Critical Mass....a smart mob does a flash
by Takver Saturday August 30, 2003 at 02:09 AM

Critical Mass on Friday employed flash mob tactics to take over the intersection in front of Flinders Street station at 6.12pm. Just as suddenly as it appeared, Critical Mass was reached and it proceeded as traffic on its regular tour of the city.

click to enlarge
cm_29aug03_pan01sm.jpg, image/jpeg, 550x240

Critical mass cyclists started turning up outside the State Library at 5.00pm for their regular last Friday of the month ride around town. This critical mass was different. For a start another rally was being held outside the State Library - to commemorate the refugees from the Tampa - who sparked a crisis two years ago.

And many cyclists seemed to stay awhile and then leave. However, at 6.12pm cyclists suddenly appeared from all directions in the intersection of Swanston and Flinders streets, in front of Flinders Street Station. A critical mass swarm had occurred causing traffic jams to peak hour traffic. After a couple of minutes the cyclists massed up, and proceeded down Flinders, then up Elizabeth Street.

Flinders Street station was the site of Australia's first 'flash mobbing' on August 21st.

Friday's critical mass is not the first time for 'flash mob' tactics to be employed by urban action groups. A reclaim the Streets held in Carlton employed this tactic of dispersal and regrouping in a swarm at the target location.

The leaflet handed out to CM partricipants said:

FLASHmobs, quirky spontaneity acting on secret instructions

SMARTmobs add intelligence in response to changing conditions.

SWARMING involves large dynamic mobs using learned behaviours to disperse and rematerialise devoid of central control.

Critical Mass functions like this. from flyers to xerocracy, blurring the boundaries of protest and urban aberration, spontaneity, splits, bicyclones, waves, bike lifts and sudden random changes create the unexpected.

In the presence of tonights Tampa Rally (www.rac-vic.org), in response to Melbourne's first Flash Mob last week (flashmob.com) and to explore the potential for Flash protests (flashprotest.org) Critical Mass will secretly disperse and rematerialise outside Flinders Street station at 6.12pm

The instructions advised people to slowly disperse between 5.50pm and 6.00pm before moving into corking positions in the target intersection at 6.11pm.

Critical Mass proceeded through the city doing bike lifts at a couple of intersections. It ventured through North Melbourne, Flemington, and winding up in Footscray at 7.30pm.

There was one piece of drama when a motorist attempted to overtake the mass, but was forced to pull over, behind cyclists, by an oncoming car. The two member police bicycle squad that was accompanying us quickly attended to the motorist. I didn't hang around, but I believe the driver may have been charged with an offence.

All told, an exciting and tiring ride home. If only all my commutes were this amount of fun.....

add your comments

Critical Mass does a flash
by Takver Saturday August 30, 2003 at 02:09 AM

criticalmass_29aug03_flyer.jpg, image/jpeg, 370x797

Front of the the Leaflet on the flash mass

add your comments

Critical Mass does a flash
by Takver Saturday August 30, 2003 at 02:09 AM

cm_29aug03_021.jpg, image/jpeg, 300x402

Great sound system on this bike.

add your comments

Critical Mass does a flash
by Takver Saturday August 30, 2003 at 02:09 AM

cm_29aug03_022.jpg, image/jpeg, 400x300

Bikelift at Elizabeth and La Trobe streets

add your comments

Critical Mass does a flash
by Takver Saturday August 30, 2003 at 02:09 AM

cm_29aug03_024.jpg, image/jpeg, 350x393

This guy gives a new meaning to cycle computers. The screen on his back cycles through about a dozen different messages.

add your comments