Very Smart Mobs

Smart mobs re-chart direction – from business to pleasure. The fuel behind mob mentality evolves from its infancy in civil disobedience and business demand to art and social effect. As the days of rights movements and tuangou (Chinese team buying) plateau, group thought accelerates in-step with art and technology.
Social antagonizer, Improv Everywhere, has used this mentality to organize mass synchronization worldwide. ‘Freezes’, events where hundreds of strangers show up to a location called out online and simultaneously freeze in place, have taken off. Just this year, they’ve occurred in New York, Paris, Montreal, Shanghai and more. The study often results in applause from passers-by. Online and mobile technology allows complete strangers to gather without notice and have a coherence that leaves security baffled.
Taken to the next level, curators are asking just how intelligent smart mobs are. James Surowiecki, author of “The Wisdom of Crowds”, hypothesizes that a diverse crowd is wiser at making decisions than even experts. The Brooklyn Art Museum takes on this theory and puts it to the test. A new exhibit, ‘Click’ will attempt crowd-curation. If expectations are met, the projections Charles Leadbeater has made in his book “We Think”, will continue to come fruition. It is anticipated that mobs that think and act collectively will lead areas previously dominated by scholars, organizations and corporations.

Katie Sherman is a NY-based freelance writer. After years of multi-tasking at downtown ad agencies, she’s recently returned from a European backpacking sabbatical. During the day she works as a Copywriter in Soho. In the off-hours she concentrates on analyzing social/ cultural trends, business innovation and local entertainment. Her work has been published on PSFK.com, CoolBusinessIdeas.com, EatDrinkSleepny.com, and Glamourite.com. Email her at katie_sherman@hotmail.com.