What is "flash mob"

n. A group of people who rapidly assemble, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act, and then quickly disperse.

A flash mob (or flashmob) is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then quickly disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and artistic expression. Flash mobs are organized via telecommunications, social media, or viral emails.

The term, coined in 2003, is generally not applied to events and performances organized for the purposes of politics (such as protests), commercial advertisement, publicity stunts that involve public relation firms, or paid professionals. In these cases of a planned purpose for the social activity in question, the term smart mobs is often applied instead.

The term " flash rob" or "flash mob robberies", a reference to the way flash mobs assemble, has been used to describe a number of robberies and assaults perpetrated suddenly by groups of teenage youth. Bill Wasik, originator of the first flash mobs, and a number of other commentators have questioned or objected to the usage of "flash mob" to describe criminal acts.

Flash Mob is the fifth album by jazz saxophonist and composer Anton Schwartz on his own Antonjazz label, released in 2014. It received limited press including a feature article in the San Francisco Chronicle an artist profile in DownBeat magazine and a feature story on NPR's Morning Edition as well as positive reviews and a long run on the Jazz Radio Top 10.

A flash mob is where a group of people rapidly gather and perform an unusual and pointless act and then quickly disperse.

Flash mob may also refer to: