Presentation Run Through

I had my run through today, so now I know what I need to fix. I also am trying to work on my annotated bibliography for my presentation packet.

Catching Up

I was out and just not doing anything when I was sick, so I am trying to catch myself up to everything. I had my meeting with my mentor and I'm finishing presentation details.  My run through will now be tomorrow in study hall.

Memorial Day Weekend Blah

I was sick still this weekend, and couldn't really do anything.  I also realized I missed my run through.  I hate being sick.

Cough

I'm sick with a fever.  I'm going to sleep all day.

Failure. Just Failure.

No one participated!  I even announced it to my entire bus and texted people to tell people.  I blew the whistle and people stared.  Not cool in the slightest bit.

... Two Weeks Left and NOW it Acts Up?

Apparently they implemented a new firewall in school, blocking sites... I lost my youtube permissions, but at least I had the videos I needed before it went crazy.  I can't view my own blog... but I can post to it... If they blocked blogger I would be cut off from a lot of my stuff, as my work is all on my blog.  Since I cannot see my posts, it makes things very difficult when I need to do my annotated bibliography, which is the next step.  I will have to pick a few of the papers that really helped me and some videos and some really important articles, since I have over 50 resource links...

Presentation: Done

I finished my presentation as a rough draft, and I will give it to my mentor in the morning.  I also finished my outline for my presentation.

Catch-Up Day

I spent the period writing journals and having a quick mentor meeting about the presentation, which I am going to send to my mentor as soon as I slap on the video and compress the presentation folder so the videos work.  I'm all caught up after I hit publish!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

My mob may be rained out... great.  And I just got the idea to use a whistle instead of a time.  I will still try to spread the word, but I may get stopped by storms if the trip is cancelled.  Oh, and Six Flags? No response.. Yesterday was the last chance.  This weekend was busy, I even got my first flat tire...

A Little Bittersweet

I went to Six Flags today for school... kind of upsetting since they did not get back to me.  But the show must go on.  I got back to school in time to finish the video, and now it just needs to go into the presentation.

Still Having Issues with the Video

I re-downloaded all three videos, and re-cut all three... yet I am still having issues.  I' decided to cut all three seperately, and found that the T-mobile video was messing up the video. I downloaded a new one from a different video online, so I can cut that when I get a chance.

Difficulty with the Video

When I tried to save the video, it wouldn't let me!  I had to start all over after re-downloading all three videos.

Presentations

Just working on presentation today.  I'm making a video with 3 different flash mobs to give people a visual of what I  am talking about.

I Think I've Made My Decision

I'm going to do the freeze mob on the trip.  I have two weeks to spread the word, and I don't really need to worry about prep beyond telling people, I just need to pick a time

Bad Weekend for a Project

I had a TON of Physics homework... if I weighed it, I would probably not be far off.  Sunday was Mother's Day, so still no project done.

More Presentation

I just worked on the presentation more today, I got a video finally.

The Big Maybe

I'm still considering the flash mob on the trip.  I would have to do something simple, like a freeze mob. I'm still working on my presentation. I also want to put together a video on flash mobs, maybe a short 5 minute thing with examples of the types of mobs?

A Possible Idea?

I'm thinkin about doing a small flash mob on a school trip.  This way, I'm doing a school related thing, and the area where the trip is should be a safe location where a lot of people are, so I shouldn't really get in the way.  Plus, it is easy to spread the word on buses.

Presentation

Working on my presentation, struggling to get images I want in there though.  Really annoying.

So I Don't Think the Mob is Happening

I can't seem to get a place to agree... it's really frustrating.  Malls say no, boardwalks say no, there really aren't many places that are good for this kind of thing to spread the word out.  It's less than a month until presentations, that doesn't really give me time to find a new place, plan it, and actually have the mob before presentations.  Unless Six Flags gets back to me with a positive response in the next week or so, there will not be a mob.  But I'm O.K. with that, since I had some real-life experiences with mini-mobs.  For now, I will work on my presentation.

Let Down...

The pier said no....

Mentor Meeting Day

I had my meeting with my mentor today.  He usually has a bazillion and a half things that can go wrong with what I am doing.  Today, his only "devil's advocacy" is what if it doesn't happen, what do I do in my presentation?  Does that mean I'm actually on a possible success? Or does it mean I'm doomed to fail?

Oh yeah, and I started my presentation draft (the first part).

A Sparkle on a Black Sheet of Paper

You know those little sparkles you see in make-up and things like it? That tiny little fleck that yuo have to turn just the right way to see and the light has to be right there?  I see it, my small glimmer of hope!  I actually have a chance with this.  The pier seems willing to allow it, just needing to know specifications before I can have an answer, I have a chance with the permit, the guy there is really helpful as well, and I know another person in the class managed to get the insurance forms, so I may be able to get both of the forms I would need.  The song and dance are all over the internet as well, I wouldn't need to come up with any choreography.  Raising money will be the hard part.

Hello Again!

I hate resending e-mails, makes me feel like such a bother.  But I'm running out of time and I need a response.  So send, send, send.

Senior Trip Weekend

So I thought my trip would not follow me on to Senior Trip. HA! Silly Daniele, one does not simply walk away for a weekend!  Because my project decided I do not get a vacation, I shall chronicle events tied to my project!

The Last Lecture reference-
James and I were part of the same group walking around and got the idea to simply ask to sit in the front of the monorail.  Remembering the book's message to just ask, we thought we at least had a chance.  Turns out they can't even allow people up front any more.

My Project, Disney Style-
We then sat on the monorail, and remembering we had not done something we planned earlier for in a line for a ride, James and Catherine started our group of six's singing of "Don't Stop Believin'."  It was really funny for us, and a girl in the back of the monorail car started to sing along.  According to Chris, some people started clapping at a couple points, but realized we were still going so they stopped clapping, and repeated.  We then wanted to do the same on a plane, so I texted my mentor (haha I have his number to bother him now, but I'm not that evil) to see what he thought.  Apparently, they can force the plane to land and I could be arrested if they freaked out.  We considered the terminal, but we could get in trouble if people complained there.  On buses, people are sleeping so we didn't even consider it there, however two of the musical students sang songs from the musical on the bus anyway and the back half of the bus was listening, so we could have gotten away with it probably.  I was too busy freaking out in Harry Potter world to do the mini idea we had for there, so Universal left my project alone. 

The Ol' John Hancock

I finished my letter to Six Flags.  Thanks to the careful teaching of my dad, the business owner, whenever I e-mail a college, I've learned to keep things short as possible and so my letter is only a page!  Who wants to waste time reading a 10-page proposal that can be put into one? So my one page letter has the school letterhead and is signed, but is homeless, in need of an envelope and stamp when I get home.  Who knows, I may have a response by the end of Senior Trip! (FRIDAY!!!)

In other news, the date for presentations is set: June 7th or 8th.  The flashmob is currently planned for the 19th, so right between senior trip and presentations.

Ahhh a Wild Lesson Appeared!

It used computer block!

Anyway, I couldn't do anything to the letter I saved on my H drive... at school.... since I have no access to that at home, I had no study hall seeing as it is a Tuesday, and we did a lesson on presentations in class today, nothing was done today.  Tomorrow, I will finish and print.

Envelopes? Who Uses Those?

I actually started my paper letter to the Six Flags Donation Committee, since I need to contact them instead of guest services.  I wasn't able to finish it todaay though, and I have Calculus homework.

A Glimmer of Hope

Yesterday I got a call from Six Flags, and I have to send in the flash mob request via mail, not e-mail, to Donations.  I went to the Musical last night and am going again with a friend this afternoon, so I cannot do much with the project this weekened, but I will fill out any form for donations tomorrow in class.

Brain Rut

I started the week with ideas to contact people, now I'm kinda stuck staring at Google, trying to think of places to contact.  I'm quickly running out of places... I'm starting to doubt that this thing will actually happen.

Click, Clack, Sigh.

I'm sending off e-mail after e-mail to places to try to find a place to hold the flash mob, and the sound coming from my keyboard reminds me of the book I read to kids for Read Across America Day: Click, Clack, Moo. 

Some Thoughts

I was talking to my mentor about my attempt to contact Six Flags, and he mentioned people will have to pay to get in. If they give me a group rate, I can increase that for people and then use that to make money for the charity. I also talked to a kid that worked there, and he mentioned they already have stuff happen where I would want to do the mob, so that means the area is a safe place to use, and I know the park has a sound system.

Someone was trying to sell Northern Quidditch shirts in lunch today, which gave me an awesome idea. When we're in Harry Potter World in Universal, have possibly a mini flash mob there with the shirts. Maybe a bunch of 'duels' between people all in a huge battle right in the middle of the place?

I'm Waiting, But Time is Not.

I'm running out of time! I need to wait a whole week for Six Flags to get back to me on the possiblity of holding a flash mob there. I was so lucky with the number of symbols, since the very end of my letter made exactly 500 symbols (their limit). It's mid-April... I need to get planning now.

I Really Hate This Waiting Thing

I'm still waiting for a response from the mall I needed to get back in contact with. All I can really do is send off an e-mail then stare at Yahoo for the rest of the period. I'm starting to think they're ignoring me.

I Feel Like a Spider...

... and I'm weaving this huge intricate web. I'm contacting the charity, so I can contact the mall, so I can re-contact the charty, so I can contact a large number of people to plan a flash mob, so I can present to a bunch of people on all of the connections I've made. It's a total mess right now, and I've got a little bug caught in this web... a possible loop hole that may get me a place for the flash mob.

A Response!

I got a response from Grassroot Soccer when I was travelling, do I will email the mall tomorrow and then get back to the charity.

Another Waiting Game

Still haven't heard back from the charity. Saturday I will send a second email, as I will be travelling tomorrow.

I Really Do Not Like Projects on Vacation...

However, I must continue on. I still haven't heard from the charity, and I don't think it would be smart to email another charity until I get a response from this one.

Ahhh My Memory Sucks

I completely forgot about the project yesterday. I just sent an e-mail to Grassroot Soccer, and still can't believe I totally forgot yesterday. Vacation and projects do not mix well for me.

Happy Easter!

Oh yeah... That's today... That was me this morning.

I didn't get work done today because today is family time with the grandparents, so I'll send the email tomorrow.

Travelling!

I was on an 18 hour drive down to Florida with my family Friday, and I drove for the last 6 and a half of those hours, so I was in no mood to work on my projects. I was sleeping. Today I was imagining possibilities for the flash mobs for each charities, and I liked my ideas for Grassroots Soccer the best, so I will e-mail them when I can get some time tomorrow.

An Interview I Never Imagined I'd Have

Last night was the Bill Wasik interview. When I asked him what led him to plan the first flash mob, he talked about chain e-mails--you know, those annoying ones that say if you forward it to 10 people, your crush will ask you out, or if you don't, some horror movie-esque thing will crawl out of your face and kill you? Yeah thouse things--and how he thought about bringing it out into physical space. Sounds familiar... doesn't it? I read a paper on that early on, when I first started. I also asked him about the violent ones in Philadelphia and other cities, and the answer shocked me, but also made sense. He pointed out that they are the closest ones, that are currently around, to his original concept: the physical overwhelming of an area due to the use of a network online. Even the question about his favorite flash mob brought up some information--it was the worshiping of the dinosaur in Toys R Us by the way--it was the first time he saw just how overwhelming and powerful the phenomenon could become. His experiment with networking has exploded into something so much bigger, a world-wide ripple effect, with flash mobs not just in New York, not just in the country, but across the world.

Today is a Big Big Day!

Today is the phone interview with Bill Wasik.  I almost forgot until I looked at my phone's app in lunch and saw that it was today.  I have about 25 minutes from the end of this class period to get to the classroom, sign out, get to my car, drive the 7ish minutes to my house (two songs long drive, I've tested it multiple times), and start my recording device (my computer most likely) before the phone call.  I'm nervous that I will be cutting it close.

A Homework Kind of Day

We watched The Last Lecture in class today, so I did not have a chance to get work done there, and I am trying to get significant reading done on The Count of Monte Cristo for AP English (it's really intriguing, or I would have read it over spring break) so I can't get work done tonight either.

Looking at Charities

http://www.charitynavigator.org/
A site full of different charities as well as ratings.

Possible charities:
Grassroots Soccer
Shoes That Fit
Children's Miracle Network
Community FoodBank of New Jersey

Welcome to Phase Three

As cool and spy-ish as phase three may sound, it just means it is time for me to begin planning my actual flash mob.  The big one, not the failure that was a few weeks ago.

This Week in the Mob

Today is Monday.  The day that I drag feet.  I still don't know what I'm going to do today and Tuesday.  Maybe look at charities?  Wednesday is the big interview!  Thursday is the last day before spring break, and that afternoon I'm driving down to Florida with my family, so I can only really do what I can in class.  I want to look over charities and get in contact with a few over spring break, and when I get back I want to know what I am to plan around for my flash mob, so after I can get in contact with the mall that left a little hope in the idea of working with a charity.  I also need to reach out to the musical kids before the musical so that I can see if there is a big group I can pull from for volunteers.  If I do the shirt idea, then I need to get in contact with my graphics teacher pronto, because I will need to see if I can get my hands on a screen turret for the time I'd need.

Weekend 8 (A New Perspective)

This weekend I found a new song by a band I really like, and there is one line that really stuck in my head: I wanna live a life from a new perspective. This project is definitely giving me a new perspective. The rest of the song really doesn't relate much, but that one line is something that relates to me right now. I like that in this project I am forced to reach out in ways I would otherwise not dare to do. Wednesday is the interview I never thought I would ever get, and was the first on I had scheduled.

This weekend was busy, as we had family over for a mock-Easter since we will not be home for the real one on Saturday, and on Sunday I was helping my dad with errands.

I'm Beginning to Think City Cops Don't Like Projects

Both the NYPD and LAPD have said they cannot help due to lack of resources. Ireland got back to me really quick, with less words than the city police did, and had a semblance of a basic answer for me.

How a Flash Mob Could Raise Money/Awareness

-Charge minimum 'Admission' donations
-Put it on YouTube with ads to raise money from views (on charity's channel, if it has one)
-Have people buy shirts for the mob, charge money past the cost of the shirt
-Hand out flyers about the charity during flash mob
-Make flash mob related to the cause in the actual event

Charity Flash Mobs of the Past

http://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living-pictures/8-inspiring-flash-mobs-for-charity.aspx#/slide-1

Some flash mobs that have been done in the past for charities.

Frustration!

Frustration is leading me to think that if I really want this to happen in a mall (survey says: mall) I will just have to go through with it, as the malls are not very nice around here. I may just have to suck it up and pick a charity or cause and design a flash mob around it and talk to the mall that said they have allowed them when it is for a charity. I may want to get in contact with a charity and see if they have any ideas if I was to make the flash mob for their charity.

A Copy-Paste E-mail??

Two of the malls I contacted (owned by the same company) sent me back an e-mail that was worded exactly the same, except for the mall name and "contacting" versus "reaching out to." Did they even think more than two seconds about it? Did they just respond an automatic no? At least the one mall had me call them and they explained that there would be a safety hazard going on at the time I'd be doing it, so they did not reccomend it, not an out-right "we do not allow them" kind of thing. If it is to be in a mall, I will have to work in a charity. That would at least give some reason to build the flash mob around, and that one mall said they have allowed events that bring awareness to a charity.

Critical Point Has Been Reached!

I've gotten to the point where I have answered my essential questions. April is closing in, right on time. Now comes the time where planning the flash mob comes in to play. I first need to find a place where it can be. Most of the malls have said no, but some I had problems with their contact form. I'm going to try to contact those malls next.

A Reflection to the Past!

Remember my first official post? It had my essential questions, and I wrote them on the bus to Math Team. Looking back, I've answered almost all of them now.

What social changes have occurred due to flash mobs?
The internet has increased mass communication, especially since the development of mobile phones with internet.

What social trends caused flash mobs?
They were actually caused by Bill Wasik.

How has society evolved the flash mob?
They have become a form of art and expression, but also a form of advertisement and a way to get ideas out to a large group.

What are their legal implications?
If they are the violent ones that rob people, then a lot. If not, you are actually protected under the First Amendment. However, if they get out of control, then there can be some possible noise and disturbance violations.

What kinds of flash mobs are most successful? Least successful?
The dance and battle flash mobs are very successful. The game and choral are not as successful.

What can cause success? Failure?
A flash mob that is too small or too big can cause failure. Not having control can cause failure. Not having a good network can cause failure. Equipment can cause failure. Success is all of the failures being avoided and a little bit of luck.

What is an ideal size for a flash mob?
A good flash mob will have a size that fits the location and activity. You don't want to break your venue.

How long do they take to plan?
They can take months to plan the dancing kind, but ones like freeze can take a couple weeks of networking.

How many people are needed to organize the ideal number of people?
FMA does it with two people at the top, and they organize people under them as well as participants. Bill Wasik worked alone.

About the Reading

One thing that really meant something to me in this section of The Last Lecture was the part about asking. I found that many people are very helpful about things if you just speak up and ask. Of course, you will always get the scared malls or the busy NYPDs of the world, but many people, like the founders of FMA, the founder of the flash mob itself, or Irish police are willing to help you out.

The part talking about practicality versus inspiration also clicked with my project. While I'm not doing something that will raise money for some charity, or some community service project, my project is on a movement that inspired a lot of people to create something that can be viewed, and is viewed by some, as art. People have dreams of getting people to join behind them in some sort of way, and a flash mob is a way for one person to start a small movement. It also brings suprise, and in many cases, joy to the ones watching the flash mob. While it does not save a life, it can brighten hundreds of lives.

International = Awesome

The Irish police department, An Garda Síochána, responded, telling me that as long as there is no disorder, then they are ok with flash mobs. That's awesome. Hopefully this is the kind of response the other departments get back to me with, because that would show that flash mobs are still seen as a useful form of expression and still have a good reputation, despite the kinds seen in Philadelphia and other cities that turned violent.

Let's Take This to the World!

After the depressing no from the NYPD, I decided to e-mail other cities and departments. Today I e-mailed Philadelphia, Los Angeles, London, and Ireland's Police. I went international! Yea! Hopefully I can get some responses.

Weekend 7

I sent the interview to my phone, so j was able to re-listen to it, and I definitely got some good information about how much I need to plan ahead of time. I was too rushed with Friday, and hopefully the bigger one will be way more successful with this knowledge. In other news, next week is the interview with Bill Wasik, but I want to try to get some more interviews planned this week if I can.

Two Learning Experiences

As previously mentioned, I was going to do a flash mob today... Didn't work so well. Everyone was preoccupied with other events and the lunchroom was almost empty. Outside people were doing hay bale tosses so it was kind of loud... The cd player couldn't be heard at all from 20 feet away! We then tried to have it played over the speakers in the lunchroom, but it was practically empty! So it was kind of a bust.

The phone interview was a lot better, I could hear the recording really well when I played it back, I just need to send it to my phone instead of my brother's iPod, so I can do that tonight. You can barely hear Conroe Brooks on the phone, so to get any quotes from him will be a struggle, but Staci Lawrence was a lot easier to hear and she spoke a lot more. I almost ran out of questions for the time I was given, but thankfully I was given answers that helped to branch off into other questions. I got some really good information from some of the questions, and it kind of doubled the message of more planning that I got from today's flash mob attempt. They can spend hundreds of hours to plan a single dance, and I didn't spend nearly that on the planning for today. On another note, I'm surprisingly hyper despite going to the midnight showing of The Hunger Games (awesome) so I can't even blame anything that happened today on lack of sleep. I know now though that if I want good results to plan and have practices and use social networking more effectively to spread the word. The weather outside is so distracting... It's so nice out, which would have been awesome if I had been successful with the flash mob today. One thing that I definitely got out of both experiences is that if you ask the right people, you can get help. Today when the cd player failed miserably, I ran to the office, and they were really helpful about playing it over the PA system, even if it didn't work so well on participation. With the interview, it was a lot easier to get in contact with people than I thought it would be, and they were really helpful with answering questions.

On the other hand, I got a no from the NYC Police Department, but I can always try Philadelphia, and I think I would get more answers from that end than from NYC, as Philadelphia had the 'flash robs' as a serious problem.

So Much Going On!!

Tonight I'm seeing a midnight premiere, so I'm going to be so tired tomorrow! Tomorrow I have the flash mob (ahh!) and the interview with FMA (double ahh!). I have printed the questions list and the bios on the website for the people I am interviewing, so tomorrow I will be prepared and can mention some things they've actually done so I don't sound like I know nothing about who I am interviewing. I need to test the cd player tonight and see how loud it is!

Another Interview Scheduled!

Friday at 1 o'clock I have an interview with FMA! I have to ask Mrs. Sardo if there is somewhere quiet I can go to make the call. If she reads this post maybe she can comment?

Questions for Interview with FMA (Pending)

**What led you both to the idea of a company that made flash mobs?

*What is it that attracts you to flash mobs in general?

What are your favorite types of flash mobs?

**Do you plan every flash mob? Or do you have staff that handle the every-day citizen's flash mob?

What do you charge for flash mobs with no professionals, just the most basic service?

How many flash mobs does the company produce a year?

**Have you seen a decrease in the popularity of flash mobs? If so, what do you think has caused this decline?

What is the strangest request you have ever gotten?

**Have any of your flash mobs been stopped by the police?

*What would you say has made this company so successful?

*Did you ever imagine that you would work with names like Universal Studios, Rachel Ray, ABC and other well known brands and companies?

Who is the most famous celebrity you have worked with?

Questions for Interview with Bill Wasik

**What brought you to plan the first flash mobs in 2003?

How long did you spend planning the first flash mobs?

*Did you ever think they would become such a phenomenon?

*What are your feelings on the commercialization of flash mobs by companies?

*What are your feelings on the violence titled as flash mobs in cities such as Philadelphia?

**What, in your words, is the definition of a flash mob?

**Would you say that flash mobs, by that definition, have died out? If so, why have they died?

What would you say makes a flash mob successful?

What would you say causes them to fail?

*Why do you think flash mobs have turned into what they are today?

What, in your opinion, has been the best flash mob to date?

**What advice would you give to someone planning a flash mob?

Of course, these questions may lead into other questions, and I may run out of time, so the starred ones are the most important, by number of stars.

Friday is Good to Go!

Let the planning begin. I have permission from the principal!

Stupid Spam Filter

I thought I didn't have an email from the PR agent, but I did... in my Spam folder.... Stupid yahoo...

Day 40 Thoughts

Still no more emails today, but we talked about The Last Lecture in class today. I think we have a final plan for what I talked to the principal about, so I need to talk to him tomorrow with the final plan and then the word will be spread. I also talked to someone with the school's tv staff, do that student can get video hopefully.

First Interview Set Up!

I'm having an interview with Bill Wasik on April 4th. For anyone that doesn't remember, Bill Wasik is credited as the 'Father of the Flash Mob' for his mobs in Macy's and other locations back in 2003. This interview is one I never thought I would get, and now I do!

I still need to hear back from Flash Mob America's PR rep, but that will hopefully be a second interview, although that will be much sooner than the Bill Wasik interview. I could explode from the amount of good news in one day!

Up, Up, and Away!

That's my mood right now. I just got a response from Bill Wasik, the founder of the flash mob. It's the people who you do not expect to get back to you, that do... I never expected the response I seem to be getting for short interviews, but it is just blowing my mind right now. The only people left to get on my side are the malls. And our guest speaker was right... follow-up e-mails are the best.

I am Suprised, to Say the Least

I think I just got confirmation for the secret... I should have the post up on Friday, but I'm going to be busy this week for sure! I have to talk to two other students to clarify details, but this is pretty much going to go ok, I think. I better knock on wood...

Fun, Fun, Fun!

I have a meeting with the principal today, who may wind up havinge talk to the school board if he cannot give permission. I'm soon to hear back from the pr rep about the phone interview. Fun, fun, fun today!

Wow, I Need to Check my Phone More!

I got an e-mail back from the PR rep from Flash Mob America, and I may get a phone interview from the founders next week! This is awesome.

Day 39 Thoughts

I am finally getting responses and progress... It definitely helps get me back into the work.

I also sent some more emails, including to Bill Wasik and the commissioner of police for NYC... I fear I may be reaching a little high, but who knows, I may get helpful replies.

Finding Hatchets in a Jungle

A jungle of red tape, that is.
First Hatchet:
I went to my principal's secretary and set up a meeting, a lot easier than trying to get a response over e-mail. Monday at 1:00 PM I can hopefully get an answer or at least an idea, so then I can start what I need to if I get the answer I'm hoping for!
Second Hatchet:
Another student in the program is doing a 5k to raise money for a charity. One of the malls said that if the flash mob is for a charity, they have let them run in the past. If I work with the other student to have my flash mob raise awareness for their 5k, it fits that mall's criteria! It is also the mall I was most hoping for, since I have been there with my friends, and have seen that there is a lot of open space.

Now I think I've found the spark to light a fire underneath of me. I may just survive this jungle.

The Waiting Game

I really do not like waiting for responses.... I found that out from waiting for colleges... It's not knowing, I guess, that gets to you. I think I will send some follow-up emails to people who have not responded and I will try to go to the pricipal's office to set up an appointment if I cannot get an e-mail back or meet with him immediately.

Day 38 Thoughts

Well, it is offically 3 months until graduation, and about a month and a half until I start putting together the presentation the presentation. I still haven't gotten a response from the principal, so I amd going to send another e-mail, since I am running out of time for what it is about.

Red Tape!

I'm caught in it! I went to the counselling office to contact the person I need to for the secret, but I was apparently barking up the wrong tree. I needed to contact the principal instead, so I just sent another e-mail to the principal instead. Hopefully he gets back to me, or I will have to go to his office on Friday, as I am running out of time!

Heard Back...

from a mall... they said no and that it was 'disruptive to business.' Oh well, still have 2 other malls to contact me back, and I have gotten in contact with some programs.

I Love Having E-Mail

I've sent out e-mails to two more malls, the other two's contact sites are still having problems. I also just sent one out to a company called Flash Mob America, as well as the group flashmobaustin. Hopefully I can get some good contacts from this.

E-mail!

I made an email for the project. It is:
welcometothemob@ymail.com

So, if you want to contact me, there is an awesome account to contact me at!

Day 36 Thoughts

We had a guest speaker from the program two years ago come in today to talk to us, since our teacher noticed we were all hitting that wall that is lack of inspiration.
I also went through the surveys for the second question, and I am amazed I came out without any papercuts. I was suprised at the low number of responses mentioning the group dynamic. Most people think of simply the entertainment factor. Tomorrow I am going to try to talk to the teacher I e-mailed, as I have not gotten a response, and according to another student, I probably never will, and this is a very time-sensitive thing right now.

Some Final Tallies From the Survey

7 people mentioned some form of media in the first question.

These are all from the second open-ended question.

53 people mention that they are fun, or because they are bored.
24 people mention or allude to the audience
6 mention inclusion or a group

Day 35 Thoughts

There are definely trends in the responses. I will try to bring them in tomorrow and sort more and move in to second question hopefully.

Some Quick Results

These are from the first question so far:
9 people were positive
6 were negative
Most were neutral

33 people mention dancing or singing

26 mention a group of people or a lot of people

Sample E-mail!!

Hello, my name is Daniele Schneider and I am high school senior in a class called the Senior Research Seminar. In this program, we research a project, and then put on a 40 minute presentation in May. As a part of the program, students do research as well as field work, such as interviews and surveys. My project is on the social effects and planning of flash mobs. Part of my project is that I would like to plan a flash mob to test the research I have done, and to see the reaction of a crowd to a flash mob, as I have not seen one in person myself.
Would you be willing to do an interview on your experience with flash mobs or flash mob-like events? The interview can take place over the phone, e-mail, or Skype, whichever is more convenient for you.
Thank you,
Daniele Schneider

*Sigh*

I don't know what it is, but I'm just not really feeling any drive whatsoever right now. Maybe its just all the waiting for other people to get back to me? It just feels like there's nothing that I can do.... I think I'm going to start writing a sample letter to ask for an e-mail interview with the major people in flash mobbing next period.

Day 34 Weekend 5 Thoughts

Still no e-mails, but I did start reading responses on the survey, and it does seem like some answers are very similar to others. Tomorrow I will take home the small stack of original responses and then I will do an official sort and count after school. Tomorrow in class I will try to contact some more malls, and maybe some stand-alone stores like Kohl's or Target if I can.

Day 33 Weekend 5 Thoughts

Still no e-mail from the malls or teacher that I know of. I was too upset from a college's decision to actually get any work done today, but tomorrow I have to start looking at the survey answers so that I can get some patterns if there are any.

Day 32 Thoughts

Contacted one mall today, as the other ones had contact issues, and am still waiting on a response from the teacher. Frustrating!

This weekend I want to dive into the open ended questions and try to analyze those.

A Squashed Mob

http://kezi.com/news/local/214052

The security made them stop and leave beacause they did not ask for permission. The mall said they would have given them permission if they had just asked. This is promising in that hopefully I can get permission since I am asking so far in advance.

By the way, this is the 100th post I have written!! Awesome.

Evil.

That is the access denied filter. Evil. I can't send emails in school, so I have to try to use the websites, but the only one that had a working Contact Us section was Quakerbridge. I'm not making people cross the bridge either, so nothing in Pennsylvania. I still have to contact other malls. I could not find any legitimate sites on whether or not you need to ask permission.

Trying to Contact Malls!

Is so not fun. I tried to contact one of the local malls and the site is having problems! Not cool. Another one gives you email addresses, and I cannot access email from school... I have the message I wanted to send, so I'll post it here so I can copy/paste. It is generalized so I do not have to change anything about it from mall to mall.


Hello, my name is Daniele Schneider and I am high school senior in a class called the Senior Research Seminar. In this program, we research a project, and then put on a 40 minute presentation in May. My project is on the social effects and planning of flash mobs. Part of my project is that I would like to plan a flash mob to test the research I have done, and to see the reaction of a crowd to a flash mob, as I have not seen one in person myself. This would be recorded, and the footage could be made availible for use by the mall if it is requested. My research is availible at srsflashmob.blogspot.com. What is this mall's policy on flash mobs? Would you be willing to give permission to run a flash mob in late April, early May?
Thank you in advance,
Daniele Schneider


So hopefully I can get permission from a mall, because it was number one on my survey results!

Day 31 Thoughts

Today we discussed the reading in class. I also sent an email to the teacher running the program I would like to get in contact with for the big secret. Hopefully they are able to help, because I think it is a great idea, and my friends are really pressuring it since they like the idea.

Day 30 Thoughts

Wow it's been pretty much a month...

Today we had a group meeting in class. I got a little cut off time-wise, but I didn't have much to say. My mentor meeting was moved to Friday due to scheduling issues for the week. I read the sections of the book we had to read for class tonight.

Day 29 Thoughts

I got my surveys in, yay!
Most people have not seen a flash mob.
The majority thinks they should be in a store or mall.
The majority are stuck between a battle or a dance.
A huge majority (my results were more than 3/4ths!) would participate.
The demographic was teenage students.

I have not formally read the open-eneded, but people were either all for it, or thought they were "stupid."
People also mentioned singing and dancing, especially dancing, often, suggesting this is the 'stereotype': A synchronized dance in a mall/store.

The Results Are in!

My mentor gave me a stack of surveys filled out today. Seriously, a stack. So I now have 84 units of data for the statistics portion of the survey. This give about ±11%, but it is really not significant when compared to the overwhelming patterns that stuck out. Battles and Dancing were racing to the finish, constantly one right behind the other, but they came to about a tie, blowing the other options 'out of the water.'

±10.91089

Seen
28
33.33333333%

Haven't Seen
56
66.66666667%

±11.25088
Park
0.5
0.632911392%

Parking Lot
4
5.063291139%

Store/Mall
56.5
71.51898734%

School
10.5
13.29113924%

Street
7.5
9.493670886%

±11.11111
Dancing
26.5
32.71604938%

Choral
8.5
10.49382716%

Freezing
11
13.58024691%

Game
4.5
5.555555556%

Battle
30.5
37.65432099%

±11.11111

Would Participate
67
82.71604938%

Wouldn't Participate
14
17.28395062%

Day 28 Thoughts

Today was a big Excel day. I made the sheet so all I will have to do is type in as I get more votes, and the stats and the charts will be updated as I go. This makes my life a lot easier. I still need to go through the objective responses, and tomorrow is a lecture day, so I will have to take home the responses I have to go through them. I do not know when my mentor will be doing the survey, but I do know it will be in the next three days. Wednesday I want to talk to the teacher previously mentioned, so I will have to jump on that tomorrow to see if they are available to talk to. If I can get the program's assistance, things will be a lot easier. However, it will need to stay in secret channels, as the public cannot know just yet.

Charts!

Another fun function of Excel that gives good visual representations.

What Needs to be Done.

I need to talk to a certain teacher that is the head of a program at this school that is relatively new. Why? Because I don't want to hurt the program by not going through the program. (Yes secretive, I know. But I will explain it all later. Just... not right now.) I talked to the person that is my 'connection' that helps to get the network I need for the big secret, and they gave me the teacher's name. I will text them after class to see what room that teacher is in so that I can talk to them about the 'secret.' Otherwise my only option is e-mail.

Upload All the Data!

(Data is the plural of Datum, so it is the grammatically correct form of that meme...)

I do not like the accuracy of the 13 responses.... hopefully I have significant numbers by Friday so that I can actually have reliable results.

Yay for Study Hall!

I finished my Excel Sheet for the 13 responses I got on Friday. I'm still mad about that person that was so rude. I'm appalled at the ±28.9% that having 13 results will get you. I need the responses from my mentor's classes to actually have accurate data.

Edit: Noticed a problem... the ±28.9% was for the 12 results since one had an issue in the where question. The other questions should be more accurate.

Weekend 4

This weekend was busy with homework, but I had a conversation with two of my friends about the big secret, and they agree with me about it and think it is a good idea. I'll have to talk to the people that would help to initiate it.

Day 25 Thoughts

So today I tried to get my survey out. When I went to the study halls, there were so few people! Some people seemed reluctant, but did it. Some people were really nice and did it because they knew me and are just cool like that. That was a grand total of two people who did that. Some people were just rude! One girl was sitting on a guy in study hall and nothing else actually said, "I'm really busy." I can see you're doing nothing. All you have to say is no.
I got a total of 13 in today. 4 were from my class. I started the Excel spreadsheet, but did not have a chance to finish before the bell, so I'll finish it Monday. Hopefully I get better results from my mentor's classes, but I'm afraid that people won't like that they have to do it.

Balloons

Who would have thought there are so many different sizes of balloons that you can shape.
http://www.balloons.com/

Today's Goal for Class...

...is to visit the media center and try to get to one of the study hall class rooms to pass out some surveys. I want to get some preliminary responses so I know if I need to give my mentor a changed survey for next week in classes or not. If I like the type of responses I am getting, then the survey will stay and I will get the results next week. This will help me to see what people in this area think would be the best, since that will hopefully get the best reaction of the crowd.

Connections, Connections, Connections.

Forget location. Today I may have started the ball rolling for the big Secret from Day 3! I talked to a classmate and sadly, had to tell the secret to see if he thought it would be possible. We need to talk to someone else about it, but we may be able to do it as a 3-in-1 thing. I still want to keep this quiet as possible. The less that people know, the better.

Excel!

The program, I mean. I can use this to easily calculate percentages that will go into the pie chart, which I can even make 3D! They can look awesome and be informational at the same time. Hopefully I can use this to come up with where people think flash mobs should be and what they think they are. Hopefully I do not get a bunch of responses saying violence...

Survey Results How-To

http://www.ehow.com/how_6371832_show-results-survey.html
This basically says that all I'll have to do is get the percentages down for the multiple choice and yes/no. For the open ended I will probably have to interpret those a bit more, like do they mention fun for why, or do they mention making chaos or friends? Then I will need to break that down into basic percentages for 'grouped' answers, I guess. Since I know my demographic is just teenagers currently enrolled in high school, I shouldn't have to try to get demographic information like age or where they live.

Hip Hip Hooray for the Survey!

I asked my mentor if he could habd the survey out to all of his math classes and he agreed! So next week sometime I will have all of those surveys come back, and tomorrow I will walk to some study halls or the media center to conduct some of my survey as an initial feedback so I know what to expect for the larger group of responses.

Day 23 Thoughts

Today I wrote my survey. Based on responses from the 40 I asked for copies of, I should be able to determine if I am getting good results or if it is not useful at all. If it is useful, my goal would be about 150 survey responses. The rain is just completely draining all creative thought today. I do like the balloon idea though. It is a mob that the 'steps' are easy enough to learn, just folding a balloon a couple times and 'battling' your friends. I need to talk to my mentor about an idea for the Secret of Day 3! Sorry I really can't talk about it yet, this is more of a reminder for myself.

Survey Error Info

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Soc_participants.shtml
Basically, 100*n^(-1/2), with n being number of surveys returned, would be percent error of the survey. If I can get 150 people, I will have about 8% error on the questions that are multiple choice or yes/no answers. I think that is a pretty good accuracy for a managable number of surveys.

Target One: Study Halls!

There are two study halls in 9th period. One in my building... one in... the freshman building. It's raining, so going across the lot with papers (covered in ink) will not be a good idea! I like the size and simplicity of the survey, and it should take people a couple minutes at the most. I will post a copy on Facebook tonight if I can in a message to all of my friends list. Tomorrow at the mentor meeting I will have to ask my mentor if he can hand out surveys in his classes. I still want to do some homerooms, but I don't know how receptive teachers would be to that. This first trial with the study halls on Friday should help me to see how effective the survey is.

Today I Want to Write a Flash Mob Survey...

...because I think it will help me to get the public opinion in our school, and where people think they would be best at.

1. What do you think of when you hear the words 'flash mob?'
2. Have you ever seen a flash mob? Y/N
3. Where do you think a flash mob would best be located?
Park
Parking Lot
Store/Mall
School
Street
4. What type of flash mob is your favorite?
Dancing
Choral (Singing)
Freezing
Game (i.e. Tag or Simon Says)
Battle (i.e. Light Sabers or other pretend weapons)
5. Why do you think people participate in flash mobs?
6. Would you participate in a flash mob if asked? Y/N

I would want to keep it short, since you would not want it to seem an ordeal for people to fill out, but you want to get information as well. I could also maybe put it on something like Facebook after school and get it sent to a larger group.
Feel free to answer in comments, if you want!

Another Flash Mob Concept

This one is from my own head this time! Well... I kinda saw some kids carrying balloon stuff today...
A balloon-sword sword fight! No one could really get hurt, and as long as a few people are responsible they can quickly pick up anything that pops. It wouldn't qualify as a weapon, so it could really be done anywhere. Plus... as mentioned before... it would not be devastating if it rained. May actually make things a little more epic (if it is outside). People could get into it, with cardboard "shields" and armour.
http://magic.about.com/od/balloontwisting/ss/swordballoon.htm
^^ Balloon Sword Instructions.
Simple to make, and easy to get into, without really breaking any laws. Balloons are relatively cheap I believe. I searched on Youtube, and it does not appear to have been done before, either. I really like this idea.

The Enemy...

is rain. If a flash mob is outside, it can become soaked due to a rainstorm. You would either need awesome participants that won't mind the water, or you will have to reschedule. Or incorporate umbrellas. Either way, it would need to be a nice day for an outdoor flash mob to be successful. Good thing I did not plan one today or it would be soaked....

Day 22 Thoughts

Today I did my research on the actual planning of the dance moves, going off of the idea that the flash mobs that involve a song and dance tend to be the most popular and do not require a large (meaning +100) group to get a reaction. If I make sure the dance is simple enough and repetitive to the point where people are not getting lost trying to remember the moves, then it should be ok. However if I am to do a more novel concept, like a freeze or worshipping a toy dinosaur (still one of my favorite that I've heard of, but it has been done, wouldn't want to copy) I would not need a choreography, but maybe need an intruction video. I also had the idea, after seeing the music video idea, to use something like a Just Dance game's choreography, since people with the game could practice easily, and the moves are already choreographed for me. But, I am keeping an open mind to other types of flash mobs.

Examples of Choreography Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lO-XqwBIJvA
A simple one... very short, more of a clip on to the end of a real show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcz9FkU8mzY&feature=related
This breaks apart the moves into different simple moves through out the video, and then put them together in sections. It is like a bunch of the video above this one. It is probably a three minute dance, but a 15 min video. They mentoion a separate video with the full performance.

eHow... I Know, Not the Best Source...

...but it does mention using the music video for the choreography, which would make it easier to choreograph. All that would be needed would be to put together a how to video or find one.

http://www.ehow.com/how_10018909_choreograph-flash-mob.html

Someone Who Choreographed a Flash Mob

http://www.ahealthiermichigan.org/2011/06/30/choreographing-a-flash-mob-dance-how-you-can-make-it-happen/
She did dance, so she knows the steps and has experience following a choreography. I will probably need to work with someone in the flash mob that does dance to plan the flash mob. I will probably need to do that sooner rather than later, so a couple weeks before I try to get people I need to find people who I could possibly work with to plan the choreography.

An Early Thoughts Post

I think I will have to find some kind of dance music that is popular at the time of the flash mob, as the music tends to have an up-beat sound, and people tend to be dancing and not singing. However, this will open up to a wider pool of performers since many people can learn a choreography, but not everyone can sing. Music choice I will not be able to figure out until the start of the planning, since music choice can change over a month, and you do not want to be dancing to a song that is already out-dated.

Day 21 Thoughts

Wow three weeks of daily blogging already. This is actually becoming a habit for me.

Today I saw a shocking video (of course it was on Youtube, thank goodness that is not blocked now). It took previous events and put them into a highly possible situation. Until I found out it was fake I thought it was real, that is how realistic it was. In a matter of hours a mob formed outside of a person's house due to a youtube video. There have been mobs like this, brought together in a matter of hours. Her address was leaked online, also possible and has happened. In the story, she and others are then killed due to violence. Look in Philly, where there have been the deadly mobs. It can happen, and it is scary.

I also have noticed a pattern! The most known flash mobs are choreographed dance flash mobs in populated areas.

More Top Mobs

http://pulse2.com/2010/02/01/the-top-50-most-epic-flash-mobs-youtube-videos/5/
This has 50 flash mobs... and there is definitely a pattern going on here.

Popular Flash Mobs

This is just a list of some well known flash mobs.
I want to look to see if there is a pattern that I see in the type of flash mob.
http://socialtimes.com/top-7-flash-mobs-of-all-time_b12242

It Does Not Always Begin as a Flash Mob

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/18/local/la-me-venice-shooting-20110418
This started as a tweet about a basketball court... and ended in a man shot in the head. It does not always take someone trying to start a flash mob for it to start, and it also can go wrong, and posibly deadly, even if that was not the intent originally.

Plan Ahead... And Plan a Back Up Ahead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd8ppk0UCx8&feature=player_embedded
I love this commercial. They make a change to the time of the flash mob, and the guy doesn't know... so he tries to start it early. So make sure you make all changes ahead of time, and have and back up situations planned as well. And another hidden thing in the video is how obvious it is that they're all there together with matching trench coats. Don't make the costume obvious until everyone is together and don't match before hand either!

Yes There is Too Big... But There IS Too Small.

http://theruckus.com/videos/flash-mob-gone-wrong/
This is what happens when you don't spread the word.... no one shows up.

From Prank to Violence

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/article/Flash-mob-turned-ugly-at-Brandeis-1406018.php
This flash mob is too big. Way too big. In the video, you can see the people are crammed into the space. It quickly became violent when a teacher was injured and the police had to get involved. Students were even arrested.

This Isn't Real... But Highly Possible.

http://igniteshow.com/videos/flash-mob-gone-very-very-wrong

This shows how quickly the internet can change situations and can cause some sort of chain reactions. It's 5 minute story that relates very similar to real events. There are 4 events that make up the parts of the story that have happened, and this simply compiles them into one possible occurrence. Definitely a warning to make sure instructions stays on controlled channels.

Day 20?!/Weekend 3

I can't get any real research today since I visited Drexel all day today, but I did notice that Philly is a little too far to be practical. On the way there we passed a mall... Which was empty. So Sunday mornings are also definitely out. The best time would probably be a Friday or Saturday night, unless it is a venue like a park, then a weekend afternoon.

Day 19/Weekend 3

I didn't get to do research today because of homework, but I'm going to Philadelphia tomorrow, so maybe I can see if it would be possible to do something there.

Day 18 Thoughts

Who would have thought that a flash mob can be 'too big.' But if it is breaking your venue, it is as bad as the ones that are stealing and hurting people, due to the damages and the people who can get hurt on accident. When I start to plan my flash mob, I will need to know what I am going to do and where I am going to do it and set an ideal size based off of that.
I had an idea for a video game themed flash mob, with people dressed as Mario or Luigi, or Pokemon, and play the theme song and dance to that. I don't know. Just a concept.

There is Such a Thing as Too Big

The size of a flash mob will really have to depend on the size of the area you are in. If you have a large group inside of a little boutique, you are going to cause problems and something is going to get broken--person or thing. If you have a huge group on the second floor of a building... *cough* Northern California *cough* you can possibly break the building. The police may also have a problem if you are restricting traffic or if you are filling an area too much, or the gathering is way too big in general.

However, if two people are dancing in the middle of the mall, it isn't a flash mob. You have to get a group that is significant enough to be seen and payed attention to, but you want to have control. You do not want 200 people trying to do an intricate choreography in a department store. That is asking for trouble, but you may get away with a freeze in place. 200 people dancing in Times Square would seem like a okay sized crowd. You need to pay attention to your location and the activity. If you do not have a lot of room, you need to keep it simple. If you do not have a lot of people, you need to make it 'fill' the space with movement.

Bringing Down the House. Literally.

This talks about a flash mob that nearly broke a mall in California. Too many people turned out to watch a performance, and the amount of people may have caused structural damage to the mall.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/weird/Flash-Mob-Crowd-Too-Big-For-NorCal-Mall-112270534.html

Too Big!

This article talks about how a flash mob got too big and caused some problems, but it also mentions how the LAPD basically wouldn't do anything if the people were just dancing, but if people were causing damage, then they would have to step in, or if people were doing something dangerous, such as an incident with a flash mob that tried to get onto a bridge being partially demolished.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=8370278

Another "Outline"

This one was made for stores to use school spirit to encourage college kids to shop at that store, but it will still be applicable (for the most part) to my flash mob. It mentions talking to the film department (of the college) but would the school's film department here be able to be of use?
http://foreword.mbsbooks.com/?p=934

Day 17 Thoughts

Today, I was still blocked... it is throwing off my research rhythm. Today marks the start of my research on planning. I will absolutely have to keep Day 3's secret a total secret. That NPR article shows that.
The mentor meeting was today! We talked about the possiblities if I cannot get into a mall, since they may be liable, but we pretty much ruled out many of the parks in the area, and my mentor had an idea about a parking lot in a shopping center. It would have to be an empty area where there is visibility, or maybe even on the sidewalks around the stores? It will be warmer by then. The timeline is set.
Now until April- Research planning
April until the start of May- Planning and Flash Mob!
May- Presentation Prep
For the presentation, I want to do a video on my flash mob experience, maybe about 10-15 minutes with the actual flash mob, interviews of participants and the audience, and some videos of the practice.

A Basic Common-Sense Outline

This is from Wikihow, but it is just as a basic reference. I pretty much knew this all already, but it is nice to have it down somewhere.
http://www.wikihow.com/Organize-a-Flash-Mob

A Really Good Tip

Basically, do not spread the word beyond participants is the lesson here.
Newspapers were doing articles.... before the flash mob. Not a good thing.
http://www.npr.org/2010/12/20/132205587/planning-a-flash-mob-better-keep-it-quiet

Day 16 Thoughts

Wow, 16 days already.
Study hall today I was so upset! I couldn't get on here to work on my project. Youtube was opened to me... but my blog was blocked... and all of my prior research. It was still not fixed by the end of the period, so hopefully it is back up tomorrow, because it is so much harder to not just type directly into a post and have all of your thoughts just pour out. You also have all of your research. Today felt like day one all over again! I did take some use of my newest resource in school though, and looked at some Youtube interviews people have done, but I could not do what I was planning to do. I really do like that idea of the fake protest, the concept is awesome.

I Like This Concept

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtnJDZak080&feature=related
It's a fake protest from ImprovAZ. They had signs that were jokes and pretended to protest, all with different sayings, some not even a 'cause' but just a line like "That's what she said!"
I really like this idea, but would not want to copy it. But I like the concept of doing something that you expect to be something else at first sight, but closer up, it is something completely different.

A Video of an Interview of Charlie Todd

This was an interview of the creator of Improv Everywhere. My notes during the video:
Did not have Youtube originally
Became well known through Youtube
Do not call themselves flash mobs
From 1 to 4000 people
Quick Growth of the No Pants Subway ride-“Snow Ball Effect”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVojyd3H6Lw

Youtube Interview for Slo-Mo Home Depot

This was an interview of participants in the Slo-Mo Home Depot flash mob by Improv Everywhere. While watching the video, these were my notes:
People were surprised the number of people
People were amazed that it happened in the store
People would ignore some of them and just move around them
People were freaking out about why they would do it
People were confused
Employees were confused
People thought they were crazy
A woman was moving slow in an electric wheel chair, and a guy felt bad because he was afraid he would offend her by his moving slow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsFd7xFzSbw&feature=fvsrhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsFd7xFzSbw&feature=fvsr

Why? Why, why, why?

The school has blocked blogger... You have got to be kidding me. I will bring this up the MOMENT I walk into class because this needs to be fixed immediately.

Day 15 Thoughts

Today we talked about interviewing, and I think for most of my interviews, they will have to be over the internet, via chat or e-mail or internet phone. Some of the interviews I probably won't get or won't get a significant one, maybe a question or two, but they will be more useful for targeting specific views, while surveys will be needed for the general public. Interviewing can either be really difficult for me or it will really help me, depending on how much information I can gather from it.

Interviewee Ideas

People who created flash mob groups, like ImprovEverywhere.
Bill Wasik, father of the flash mob.
People who are parts of groups like ImprovEverywhere.
Police.
Police chiefs in cities where the flash mobs have occured.
PR reps. for companies that have done flash mobs for ads.
People from the show Mobbed.

Day 14 Thoughts

I didn't get to research today, but I did rule out the skating rink idea. It's way to dangerous. And I also decided I want to start researching planning early March. This gave me an idea for a guide titled 'How to Plan a Flash Mob' and to test the 'guide' by following it by making my own. It would be an easy way to summarize my research, and provide feedback on that research through real-life trial and error.

Weekend Two, Day 13 Thoughts

I never knew there were so many violent flash mobs. It's kind of disturbing. It's not even like they are roughing people up, people are being killed. These truly are the 'dark side' of flash mobs. These are happening all over the world. That list was truly disturbing to see some of the ones it mentions, like a man was hit by a train when he tried to escape when he was being beaten and mugged by a group.

A List of Flash Mobs

http://violentflashmobs.com/

This site is just a huge lists of violent flash mobs and attacks. There is such a long list. Some don't really classify as flash mobs, as there are only a few people, but there are still so many on there that classify.

Philadelphia Flash Mobs

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/us/25mobs.html

These were teens who beat up people in the streets of Philadelphia in 2010, blaming lack of activities. They also mention a curfew, suggesting they were at night. It mentions others in Boston, Brooklyn, and South Orange, NJ.

Weekend Two/Day 12

I had to go to my sister's soccer so I couldn't really do research today, but we were at a place that had a skating rink, and the idea of a skating flash mob came and quickly went due to the danger, but what about rushing to the empty center of the rink and doing something?

Day 11 Thoughts

When I was looking for legal information, all I saw was about the Philadelphia flash mobs, not about the ones you see on Youtube all of the time, but I fould some agreements for people who are joining a flash mob, and I will have to make something like that or have a post and whatever way I tell people, give them that site and say if you show up, you agree to the terms. I also read about special mall insurance? I've never heard of that, but I will have to be wary of it. Tomorrow I want to look more into the violent and robbing flash mobs.

Article on Hazards of Flash Mobs

http://www.alliedbarton.com/SecurityResourceCenter/SecurityAwarenessTips/PersonalandFamily/FlashMobSafety.aspx
I have a feeling this is a bit over-exaggerating the hazards, but it is helpful to know.

Another Legal Agreement

http://www.ultimateteenstar.com/term.html

At the end is a huge section about liability for injuries and damages caused by/to a person during the flash mob.

A Different Flash Mob's Legal Coverage

http://www.slideshare.net/TessaCunningham/wcs-flash-mob-signup-waiver

They basically make it so if you get hurt, it's not their fault and removes their liability. They also mention special mall insurance that costs money? I will have to watch out for this if I do a flash mob at a mall. That may make it easier for me to do one at a park or something since I would need to get money somehow.

Day 10 Already?

Looking back on the last 10 days, I am suprised with how much research I have actually gotten. I finished all of my classification posts today, took long enough, but it was my major week goal. I also found some good legal evidence that flash mobs are legal, as long as there is no ordinance requiring a permit in the town. This weekend I really want to work on liability issues, and the flash mobs that have turned to violence and theft, as these show when flash mobs violate the protections of the first amendment, since they are no longer peaceable. I want to know how they started, what the police did in response, and what legally resulted from them (I have some evidence for this already).

Political Flash Mobs

These REQUIRE a political motivation. They are different from a formal protest because they flash in, do their thing, and flash out.

The Phillippines

From Untitled?
The People Power II movement to get rid of the corrupt President in control at the time.

Power Shift


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8d6H5SSgMk


A youth movement in London. They dance in a park near Parliment and the London Eye. The group just kept growing and growing, but took too long to get to more than 5 people!

Advertising Flash Mob

These are used to promote a product or service by a company. They have been adapted to the popularity of flash mobs.

Ray Bans

http://urbanpeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/7.-ray-ban1-1024x248.jpg

People wore the glasses and were staring at a billboard in an attempt to get people to see the ad.

T-Mobile

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3d3KigPQM

This is a HUGE performance flash mob, but because it is to promote the company's service, it becomes.... advertising! I like how quickly it grows, and how 'audience members' are part of it and slowly add to the size of the mob.

Dodge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4VWPq__1vo

I like how they appear a part of the crowd, then slowly identify themselves by the shirts under their jackets.

Oops...

I didn't have time to do the classification post like I wanted too... Debate ran so late this time. Oh well, because other than the party, debate is over... Makes me sad. Tonight I WILL get the two posts done for advertising and political mobs. I can try to get everything but videos during class today, so I can get those at home tonight.

Day 9 Thoughts

I can't really do much from a bus.., but I got what I wanted too from the time I had in class and study hall for law articles, so I'll do a classification post for advertising flash mobs tonight hopefully, for political too if I'm lucky with my findings.

I'm so happy I found that article that mentions the first amendment rights protecting flash mobs. I will have to look up ordinances when I plan the real flash mob, but for now there really isn't much I can do since they vary from town to town.

Tomorrow in class I will have to look up liability issues if I can find anything. Oh and mentor meeting tomorrow.

The Bill of Rights

http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/billofrights

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

So in other words, keep it peaceful. No attacking people.

An Article on the Topic in General

http://span.state.gov/jul-aug2010/eng/46-49-Flash-Mob.html
This article talks about the start and spread of the trend, but then (thankfully) tells me what I have been looking for--they are protected under the First Amendment, as long as it remains peaceful and presents no danger. I'm going to look up and analyze the First Amendment if I can, and I will have to look up ordinances in the town, as the article mentions that some areas require permits for large gatherings, but at a mall I do not think this is a problem, if I have permission from the mall.

An Article on the New Attempts at Anti-Flash Mob Laws

http://verdict.justia.com/2011/10/11/to-honor-first-amendment-rights-cleveland-and-other-cities-should-focus-on-flash-mob-violence-not-instant-messaging

This basically talks about protecting first amendment rights and how they need to be wary of how some laws come close to infringing on these, and how the focus should be the violence, not the use of the web.

An Interview with the Creator of Flash Mobs from Stay Free Magazine

http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/archives/24/flash-mobs-history.html

He talks about how he started the Mob Project, why he did it and how it spread, from his perspective.

Day 8 Thoughts

It was a really unproductive day for me, but at least I got one classification post up, and some articles on attempts to make laws related to flash mobs.
Maybe tomorrow I can get some new law articles on the way to the debate championship, since I won't have much time after debate, but I still do not have Youtube access in school. Oh well that's what after school is for right? I really like the concept of the MP3 experiment and how they use the technology. I would not want to use the same idea exactly, but it would be possible to do an instructional video if needed, or a song file that had instructions on what to do to make it easy to practice. The video was awesome.

Performance Flash Mob

This is the type of flash mob I originally had in mind. As of now it is still the plan, but as the project develops that may change.


This requires some pre-planning and organization by a central person. This is planned ahead of time and is typically not a big as an atomized flash mob or an interactive flash mob. These tend to be led by a comedy/art group.

"Glee" Flash Mobs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOiJkx4NtOM&feature=related

This a dancing one, I cannot tell if they are singing as well with the music, but if they are then it fits in with how I wanted my original idea. They are dancing to a mash-up of multiple songs, some parts choreographed, some not.

One Night of Fire

http://gothamist.com/attachments/garth/2006_07_30_onenightoffire.jpg

A bunch of people meet in Brooklyn where there are smaller things such as the one above. It is supposed to be a night of 'illusion' as the site for Danger says on its video for Past Exploits>Street

MP3 Experiment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG7F9G4AEak&feature=player_embedded

They use an MP3 file to give instructions to perform certain acts at about the same time. The result is a really pretty lights show in NYC. This is actually a really good way to use the technology availible today, and an easy way to make sure people do not forget.

Montgomery Co., Maryland

http://washingtonexaminer.com/2012/02/montgomery-county-flash-mob-theft-bill-killed/253871

There were robberies that occured in a 'flash mob' fashion in the county, so they tried to make a law to use the full value of the total theft to everyone that participates (if $5000 is stolen by 10 people, all 10 people are charged for $5000, instead of what they stole indiviually). The law did not make it past the judiciary committee.

Cleaveland, Ohio

http://www.wkyc.com/news/article/200798/3/Cleveland-Flash-mob-law-vetoed-by-Mayor-Jackson

The mayor of Cleaveland vetoed a law that would make organizing a flash mob a misdemeanor crime! It was vetoed due to being unconstitutional (Right to Free Assembly?) in August.

I'm going to look up similar laws like this, because this shows that the legal system is trying to make a change due to these flash mobs.

Late Night Inspiration

As usual, I can't help but think before bed. An idea came out of this typically useless mind-ramble. What if, for the flash mob, I try something new? The idea of a fake music video with a 'star' that parodies Rebecca Black meets Hannah Montana or Justin Beiber, and make it obviously amateur with a seriously egotistic 'star' who sings (horribly or mediocre) and has a really corny choreography, and have the northern tv crew film the 'music video' and how 'crowd members' filming the reactions of people with their phones, pretending to be recording the performance came up. I'd have to toss the idea around, as it would take a new spin on the performance flash mob and keep it original.

Day 7 Thoughts

Well today I got the first two types of flash mobs defined and gave some examples. I still have three more and I need to give the pros and cons for all five. I was driving home from school today, and I had my windows down. I was rolling them up, and my hair got caught in the window (embarrasing, I know), and it got me thinking that so much can go wrong if I am not paying attention. I will have to keep an eye on the people that are in the flash mob and make sure, if I do a performance flash mob, that I make sure I know everyone who is in it will be trustworthy. At the group meeting for the class, I was suprised how much progress I had to report. I actually got a lot of ground covered this last week. Hopefully I can maintain this pace. I was looking at my stats for the blog, and I can see you, viewers from Germany! And also, I don't have Firefox... so I know those aren't from me! Don't be afraid to comment, strangers.

Interactive Flash Mobs

People ACTUALLY interact! Unlike the atomized flash mob, this typically involves people playing some sort of 'game.'

Pillow Fight Flash Mobs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVms_sahfak
I like this video because they show how spontaneous the fight is, and how quickly people disperse. Basically people carry pillows, inconspicuously (how? It's a pillow...), and start a fight in the middle of the street with them then disappear in the crowd.

Capture the Flag
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvHYgzg-oDE&feature=related
These tend to span an entire area, more of a net than a mob. These are dangerous (see video, kids running across traffic! An accident waiting to happen!). People attempt to capture a literal flag from a hidden location across the city and participants run around tagging people and trying to get the flag. Not a mob I'd want to do outside, maybe in a mall? Not city-wide as it is too dangerous.

"Light Saber" Flash Mob
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUZgrL85OKs
This video is from a flash mob a year old today! Awesome.
People hide lightsabers under their clothes then gather in a central location and then have a huge 'battle' in the middle of the area and then clear out after the battle. A little dangerous if someone gets hit a little hard during the flash mob.

Follow the Leader
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nMyC576c_Q
Basically a giant line. Not so entertaining, but it IS a flash mob, nonetheless.

A New Paper!!!

This one is really following the advertising side of flash mobs. It shows how the flash mob changed advertising. This will help how flash mobs changed culture. I will analyze later.


Flash Mobs and Viral Marketing
http://lcastrodale.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/flash-mobs-and-viral-marketing-lindsey-castrodale.pdf

The Father of the Flash Mob

http://www.upf.br/nexjor/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Bill_Wasik-560x840.jpg
This guy, Bill Wasik, is responsible for the first flash mobs. This guy! Does he really look like the creator of a huge teen trend? It's amazing where the sources of things that can change a generation come from.

Atomized Flash Mobs

So when I looked this up, I was number 4 on google's search results! So awesome.

For the definition, I will use what I wrote during my last paper analysis, because I really like the simple definition.

Atomized Flash Mob- Put into motion by electronic means, and people do not interact with one another and disperse quickly.

Bill Wasik's Macy's 2003 Mob (The Original Flash Mob!)

http://ofb.net/~epstein/sl/20030617-mob1.jpg

People were organized via email and other means to meet at the NYC Macy's in 2003. They inquired about a 'love rug,' claiming to be in a free-love commune. The cost of the rug? $10,000!

Frozen Grand Central

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo

The group ImprovEverywhere had 207 people freeze in the middle of Grand Central Station in NYC, and were briefed just before the actual flash mob, after being organized at a separate location. They were frozen for only 5 minutes and disappeared in to the crowd shortly after.

Silent Raves

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CadjWh2P2Wo&feature=related

People dance to music no one can hear, can be through a shared station or typically their own music or none at all. Numerous videos on Youtube, but only so many that didn't play music over the video.... which kinda ruins the point of a SILENT rave...

Goals for the Week

Well I wasted a big chunk of study hall for a senior coach gift for a club, so hopefully I can make up some lost time by getting significant research tonight.

Goals for the week:

• Define the 5 types of flash mobs definitively (at least 1 a day?) from research


• Find numerous examples of the 5 types of flash mobs and find links on Youtube for video examples


• List of good and bad consequences (Consequences is a neutral term, actually. We have given it a negative connotation. Thank you psychology!) of different types


• Begin research into legal implications

Hopefully, I can get the types defined in class, but the Youtube links will need to be done at home, and the list will also hopefully come from some insight into the implications and from the definitions research.

The First Weekend, Part Two

After my post last night, I was talking to a cousin at a family party, and told him what my project was. At first he was confused that I was making a flash mob (for those who do not know, I tend to be known as a major rule-follower, and my cousins seem to think this especially), but then basically outlined my entire plan from the start of the project, and seemed enthused about the idea, and willing to participate. Know it or not, when I talked to people about my project last year I was getting similar reactions. I take this as a (kind of) good thing that people are so willing to participate.
Today, I read a paper from a student at Harvard on flash mobs, and he focused mainly on the origins and the causes that was not just the technological side like previous articles have emphasized, or purely the social aspect, as another previous article has. It has also provided some unique flash mobs for me to research as well.

Analyzing the Harvard Paper

This paper is most likely from a student, as it does not mention a title of professor, so I will need to use this for its sources and as a launching point for other ideas.

The paper begins with a description of the Macy's flash mob, the first real flash mob, and how quickly it spread from New York to the entire world, basically the birth of the flash mob. The paper then goes on to discuss how it will not be an analysis of the use of technology, but the meeting of technology and physical space. Then there is some of the social movements that came before the flash mob, such as Dadaism (the art world equivalent?), the Situationist Movement, the Spassguerilla in Germany, and Yippies. Flash mobs, according to the paper, are basically in cities, and the activites can range extremely. Then, the types of flash mobs are defined:
Atomized Flash Mob- Put into motion by electronic means, and people do not interact with one another and disperse quickly.
Interactive Flash Mob- A group of people interact in a public space that tends to disrupt the space's typical use, but is not illegal in its actions. They tend to make an 'urban playground' and are not choreographed.
Performance Flash Mob- Bring the art into the streets, and tend to be organized and have a lead member or members who plan the flash mob and the word is spread for participation.
Political Flash Mob- These have a political purpose, such as the one in the Phillipines.
Advertising Flash Mob- Started by a company as a way to promote a product.
The paper then analyzes how technology is not the only aspect of flash mobs, as not all flash mobs are successful. The most successful flash mobs have an "organizational backing." The 'best' is attributed to the 2008 Grand Central flash mob freezing in place (look up and watch). The need for physical proximity is also emphasized, as people who are hours away will not be able to assemble in a quick fashion. Youtube is emphasized for the spreading of popularity of flash mobs (I need access in school to look these up...). The entertainment aspect is also brought up. However, the downside that is the mess that flash mobs can leave in their wake is also brought up in that it wastes public resources (to make a flash mob that would not be harmful to society, I would have to make sure it would not leave a mess), and they tend to have no purpose besides the entertainment value. They are also tied to freedom of socialability, but in Asia and Eastern Europe tend to be more political.

Another Paper!

This one is from a Harvard student. The paper starts off saying it will not tie technology to flash mobs, so hopefully this will give some new insight.


Reframing Public Space Through Digital Mobilization: Flash Mobs and the Futility(?) of
Contemporary Urban Youth Culture
http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic497840.files/Molnar_Reframing-Public-Space.pdf

First Weekend, Day One

Today I did not really do research, but my friends went to a mall. Looking around, I could see good potential areas on the ground floor from the top floor. Saturday nights are busy at the mall I went to, but the restaurants were very full as well. I'd have to visit the spots I would want it to be to see the space and how it is used, like how the middle of the path in the mall between stores was empty and people stuck closer to the doors of stores. The intersections were empty, but there were kiosks in the way, so I would have to look for a relatively empty area, free of obstacles like kiosks, and people are able to move, but kiosks would not really move.

An Easy Definition of "Lifeworld"

Lifeworld is a term from Habermas that basically means shared understandings of the community.

Source: http://people.ucalgary.ca/~frank/habermas.html
(This is just a huge article on Habermas. All I got out of it was the definition of lifeworld.)

A Nice Explanation of "Public Sphere"

The public sphere is a place where ideas are freely shared, such as the old 'saloons' or a public hall. It involves the government, the citizens, the media, and private interests.

Source:
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/PubSphereweb.pdf

The Secret from Day 3!

A flash mob test, in the halls of NBC! A small 10-15 person flash mob, followed by a survey the next day to see the spread and knowledge of it in the school. DO NOT PUBLISH!

Day 4, Analyzing Second Article

I still cannot find the title of the paper. The beginning of the paper outlines what it will discuss. This paper will be making an analysis of trends in mobile technology then of flash mobs, so I assume that this paper makes a connection between mobile tech. and flash mobs. This will differ from the first paper I read. I found the article while looking up a term used in the previous article.

The article is tying the extreme increase of cellphone usage from 2001-2008 (the diagrams are actually really shocking) to the increase of mass communication. This ties the usage of sites like Facebook that made phone-internet usage increase sharply. The paper is using flash mobs as the combination of mass communication and physical space. Social networking has passed the usage of email, and mobile internet is now used more than desktop internet (Coincidentally, I posted last night's thoughts journal from my phone!).

The first sentence of the second part is to directly tie mass communication to the creation of the flash mob (quick to the point?). The first 'primitive' form of a 'flash mob' was to organize a protest in the Phillipines in 2001 (I want to look this up!) He then describes 'atomized' flash mobs as ones without purpose other than to use the technology that has become availible (the earliest forms of the ones we know today; Macy's, 2003). He ties their popularity to programs like Youtube, to spread across the world. "Interactive flash mobs" are for the interaction alone (hanging with friends; these can be destructive). Performance flash mobs are to make an artistic statement (typically led by one main organizer), and advertising flash mobs to promote a product (T-Mobile Liverpool). Political flash mobs are ones relative to the Phillipines mob, to make a political statement. The internet is attributed to the success of flash mobs. The paper then has a number of sites that promote flash mobs (good for finding sources to interview?) It then alks about the implications, such as the ones recently in Philadelphia (I call them flash 'robs'...). While the paper makes the statement that the true 'flash mob' may be over, I'm not quite sure about that. With the numbers of people using the internet on mobile phones, such as the Droid or iPhone, I think that they may rise back up, or their successors will.

Day Three-Thoughts and Reflections

After my meeting with my mentor, I feel a bit more confident in my ability to complete my research to the program's expectations. He even had an idea for research purposes that due to the nature of the idea, we're keeping it a secret! I'm going to put it into a draft for my own reference and post it when it can be released, so probably not for a while. The article today gave me some new research ideas but it is not as similar to my project as I suspected, but the research methods are very helpful, as he talks about what he found to be most efficient, as well as gave me some starting points for further research. I found a 52 page paper in my follow-up searches for a definition of a word. Hopefully I can start that article tonight and tomorrow have it finished.

Day Three, Analysis of First Article, During Reading

As I am reading through the first article, the one I found yesterday, I am findig he talks a lot about "colonization of the lifeworld" and the "public sphere." A problem from his research was that he found it hard to find a flash mob occuring during his research from the groups running flash mobs in his area of Texas (oh, yeah there are apparently groups that just do flash mobs!), a problem I hopefully will not have, being the person running the flash mob. Site to talk to others on flash mobs mentioned: Urban Pranksters (P.S. apparently this site has been becoming replaced by the introduction of Facebook, as he mentions later). He then talks about comparing the people who participate in the flash mobs, and using social networking like Facebook to contact other people who are in flash mobs (good idea, may have to use for significant interviewing). He found problems with email interviews, and phone and in person were significantly longer (maybe a chat on skype for long distance interviews is an idea?). He then gives some of his interview questions, some that tie into my research so far, but none that are from the perspective of the audience, just the performers. He also talks of Youtube and how it is used to broadcast performances. He has a problem generalizing flash mobs due to the variety in flash mobs. Guerrilla theater is compared in its lack of spontaneity and more preparation. He points out that one of the few traits shared across flash mobs is that the people must be bold. According to his population sample, people rarely mention a cause/awareness for the flash mob. He does include the motivation of recognition aided by Youtube. This is an answer to the question on evolution of flash mobs-they become eternal (kinda) and world-wide instead of a small mall food court. He also uses an interview response mentioning video choreography in order to get more people to show up. He discusses turnout versus complexity, which reminds me of a concept in Psychology of the difficulty of tasks versus arousal. A more difficult task needs less arousal for optimal performance, and more arousal for simple tasks. For a larger flash mob, you need a more simple task (freezing in place). For a smaller flash mob, you need a more difficult task (a dance and song). Sites like Youtube can make the more difficult performance larger. He then talks about the use of flash mobs as their own form of social interactions. Another point is that it should not be detrimental to the natural happenings of the venue (not filling and blocking an entire hall in a mall). Positive results defined as: Attention. Purpose options: Promote consumerism, or distract from it.