Flash mob
A group assembles suddenly in a public place, performs a brief coordinated activity, and disperses. Flash mobs are typically organized online.
Social media: Digital platforms that let people create and share content and communicate with networks of users. Online platforms can circulate plans and attract participants while keeping coordination lightweight.
Bill Wasik: An American editor and writer who organized early New York flash mobs in 2003. Wasik’s events helped establish the flash mob as a named social phenomenon.
Flash mob dance: A coordinated dance performed by a group that gathers unexpectedly in a public place. Dance is the best-known performance format associated with flash mobs.
Political protest: A public expression of opposition to a policy, authority, or social condition. Protests usually sustain a political demand, while flash mobs often center on a brief coordinated act.
Public spectacle: A visible event staged for a broad audience, often attracting attention through scale or novelty. The sudden appearance of performers turns ordinary surroundings into a temporary spectacle.
Synchronous communication: Communication in which participants exchange messages in real time. Real-time messages help participants coordinate arrival, timing, and actions.
Harper's Magazine: An American monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, and the arts. Wasik later described his 2003 experiment in the magazine.
Public art: Art created for presentation in public spaces and often accessible to broad audiences. Some flash mobs use temporary performance to turn an everyday place into an art venue.
Public gathering: An assembly of people in a shared place, whether planned or spontaneous. A flash mob is a particular kind of public gathering with a sudden, coordinated performance.
Viral marketing: Promotion designed to spread rapidly as people share it through networks and media. Recordings of flash mobs can extend a brief live event to much larger audiences.