yet another moronic internet fad

[rone]

Whoever came up with the idea of "flash mobs" needs to have a picturephone shoved way, way up their ass, because that way it'll be next to their head and they can call for help. Judging by a few reports i've read, though, it seems that they're as dull in action as they are in concept, so i'm hopeful this nonsense dies out before summer's out.

Comments

[sunburn.livejournal.com]

There's a Bruce Sterling novel that I haven't read, but I've heard the first chapter read by the author, and the first chapter features a dry post-mortem on the event where a group of people materialized into a mob and attacked a bank, destroying its doors, locks, windows, ATM(?) etc., and then vanished back into the crowd. The tenor of the chapter suggested it was spontaneous, except that some people were carrying heavy tools that you don't carry around with you if you don't think you'll be using them. I suspect that this sort of attack is the penultimate step in the evolution of a flash mob. The ultimate step is a hivemind, of course. Really, though, I should find what book it was and read it.

[waider.livejournal.com]

You want Bill Maher's comment.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Bill Maher wrote something funny... who knew? He can't link correctly, but at least he wrote something funny.

[alfvaen]

Larry Niven had a story called "Flash Crowd". Admittedly, that was in a world with cheap teleportation, so anybody could decide to go down to the sight of the event they saw on 3V...

[sunburn.livejournal.com]

Alfred Bester's _The Stars My Destination_ let people teleport using a mental trick. Unfortunately, when the outer moons attacked the east coast of the US with nukes, people teleported west, materializing on top of one another, and the resulting collisions and explosions killed more people than the nuclear attack. Flash mobs would be, erm, looked down upon.

[ex-askesis860.livejournal.com]

My, but you've become a cranky old man.

Do you not see the potential? This is the future of activism, and the future of insurgency. It's just proof of concept; give it three years and we may end up with a whole new model for getting around command-and-control strcutures.

Or it could just be a dumb fad. But it's still cooler than Usenet.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

If flash mobs are the future of activism and insurgency, they're worse off than i thought.

Command-and-control structures... do you get paid to say things like that? Oh, wait, you do.

[sambushell.livejournal.com]

I sure love watching you kids play-fighting.

[waider.livejournal.com]

If they get too rowdy, take their toys away.

At least the pointy and sharp ones, anyway.

[merde.livejournal.com]

i'm sorry, i just have to laugh at you for this. when, i ask you, was rone ever not cranky? if anything, he's mellowed with age. he used to be so negative, even i couldn't stand to be around him.

[eviltofu.livejournal.com]

There's no flashing or streaking? What a let down!

[vspope.livejournal.com]

...needs to have a picturephone shoved way, way up their ass, because that way it'll be next to their head and they can call for help.

I am providing advance notice that I will be stealing the above line.