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"Avaaz is a global web movement to bring people-powered politics to decision-making everywhere" (Avaaz.org, 2011). Avaaz means voice, in "... several European, Middle Eastern and Asian languages" (Avaaz.org, 2011a). This is not a website where you need to prove your credentials or log in to be a member. However, it is one of the most powerful and influential organisations in the world. The Avaaz community "... empowers millions of people from all walks of life to take action on pressing global, regional and national issues, from corruption and poverty to conflict and climate change" (Avaaz.org, 2011a). Their online platform "... allows thousands of individual efforts, however small, to be rapidly combined into a powerful collective force" (Avaaz.org, 2011a). The Avaaz community supports campaigns in 14 languages, has a core team on 4 continents, includes thousands of volunteers. Overall, the community helps organise the signing of petitions, funding media campaigns and direct actions, contact through emailing, calling and lobbying governments, and organizing "offline" protests and events. They do this to "... ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform the decisions that affect us all" (Avaaz, 2011a). Two very good examples of the strength of the community include: * Stand With Anna Hazare (Avaaz.org, 2011b) shows of a petition where over 624,876 people have signed since the campaign launched on the 7th April, 2011. Before the goal of one million signatures was reached, a victory has been announced. * Blackout-proof the protests (Avaaz.org, 2011c) is a current petition to "...secure satellite modems and phones, tiny video cameras, and portable radio transmitters, plus expert support teams on the ground -- to enable

Avaaz addresses global issues to generate global interest in improved conditions - globally. The world in action (Avaaz.org). Available in fourteen different language, it encourages borderless interest in issues relevant locally and internationally, promoting campaigns to 'close the gap between the world we have and the world most people everywhere want' (About Avaaz, n.d.). Avaaz is to the world what GetUp! is doing for Australia, including its policy on transparency, evidenced in the availability of financial reports, member statistics, and its member-funded, crowd-sourced model. Rather than a distributed, region-dependent staff and budget, Avaaz has a 'single, global team with a mandate to work on any issue of public concern' (Avaaz.org, n.d.). It is Avaaz members who decide where to direct resources The website projects a sense of global community, as much in being available in so many languages as in movements presented on every page heralding from many different countries representing the plights of many and varied communities. Avaaz is a global example of social awareness instigating social movements, easily promoted through the connectivity of the internet and the tools for social networking, to create a better world. Websites and movements for campaigns such as Avaaz and GetUp! Australia are helping to raise awareness and reclaim power for the people. Avaaz.org.(2011). The World in Action. Retrieved from http://www.avaaz.org. GetUp. (n.d.) GetUp! Retrieved from http://www.getup.org.au.

As yet another online resource for the "lounge chair activist" Avaaz.org seems to cover it all. Whether you're interested in saving the whales, climate change, gay rights or donating to flood victims, there is a cause available for you. Avaaz, started in 2007 with the mission to "organise citizens of all nations to close the gap between the world we have and the world most people everywhere want" (Avaaz.org, 2011). So far they seem to be achieving this goal. With over 8 million members worldwide, who have so far taken over 38 "actions" this is a website that seems to be doing what it's promised. To ensure that there is no underlying bias, no political voice hiding behind the curtains, Avaaz ensures there is "democratic accountability" by being 100% member-funded. It is mainly staffed by volunteers, who email actions to members in way that registers interest in the project and nothing more. These actions are also normally put forward by Avaaz members themselves, rather than outside parties. Avaaz, like BOINC, relies on word-of-mouth to spread the word. Also using social network sites to keep up the interest between members. Their hope is that once someone joins through a campaign for one specific issue, that they will then continue to support other actions. To prove their success, after "China's violent crackdown on the March '08' protests and riots in Tibet"(Avaaz, 2011) Avaaz was able to build the most successful global position to date. They were able to achieve 1.5 million signatures in just three weeks calling for dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama. Whether you just sign a petition or donate money, having so many available voices ensures that Avaaz will make it count. As stated by Zainab Bangura, the foreign minister of Sierra Leone "Avaaz is an ally, and a rallying place, for disadvantaged people everywhere to help create real change"(Avaaz, 2011). Avaaz.org. (2011). Avaaz.org: The World in Action. R

In Riley's (2005) conclusion, he sums up really well the evolution of tools like flash mobs in the collection and dissemination of information in a different ways are opening the door for more and more interaction and are driving the use of different technologies to spread messages to many people in a very short space of time. Through an expressive platform like Flash Mob performances, these groups of people getting together to tell their story in entertaining ways also reach out to the general community and provide a refreshingly different and more intelligently placed story telling method than is currently being utilised by the centralised media units that are used to disseminating data from a single source. These avenues for human expression break down the constraints imposed by plutocracy, industrialism and the expectations and moulding of the masses who are conditioned to believe that they are no better than mere servants of the rich minority who ultimately control everything, because money equals power and therefore privilege and status is more important and above the laws for everyday people. The use of the Flash Mobs is interesting because it takes an impromptu-like performance, engages the public in unplanned entertainment, and spreads a message that is delivered in a very entertaining way. The delivery of these performances is not only live, but is also filmed by spectators and organisers, and placed on websites like Youtube and spread to audiences worldwide. Examples of this include the St Patrick's Day performance at Central Station in Sydney Australia, which went viral worldwide within a day or two of being uploaded to Youtube. The use of online mediums like Youtube also means that statistical or quantitative data can be collected about the viewers or online audience, and used by the intellectuals in the planning of the next Flash Mob event. Riley, C. (2005). Flash-Mobs Are The New Public Intellectuals. Retrieved April 17, 2011, from http://www

A community based website that consolidates the activities of Flash Mobbers around the world into a single portal. The resourceful website provides a central point of contact for people who create flash mobs, for people who are entertained by them and for those planning and for those who want to be a part of this intellectual movement. The website allows people to register and collaborate with other flash mob fans, keeping subscribers informed on event dates, locations, latest videos, flash mob events, a calendar and forum. Flash mobs not only allow people to enjoy the entertainment factor, but the developers of the flash mobs also drive the use of different technologies, such as websites, choreography, video editing, and the use of social media to spread the message. Entertaining and thought-provoking flash mob performances usually end up going viral, but along the way, these viral videos collect important demographic information about those who view the videos. Mashflob.com: The Worldwide Flashmob Community! (2011). Retrieved April 17, 2011, from http://www.mashflob.com/

Flash mobs have been around since 2003, the full power of their reach has not really been felt until a mix of social media like Facebook and Twitter came into effect to help to coordinate events and spread the word. A mix of this and viral video tools like Youtube help to spread the story worldwide in a very short time frame. The organisation of early flash mob performances used to rely on text messages to spread the message. However, these days the internet and social media have made the coordination and the spreading of the message much quicker and it allows for many more networking opportunities. Costs of performances and production are kept to a minimum, with no need to buy air time. An interesting side-effect of viral videos these days is that the video will most often be displayed on television for free anyway, doing away with the need to pay for advertising air time, and has given rise to television programs dedicated to flash mob tv in places like Germany (Flashmob.tv, 2011). Flashmob.tv, (2011). The Show. Retrieved from http://www.flashmob.tv/en/the_show.php

This resource, found in the Char Valiant School Newspaper, discusses flash mobs. Flash mobs, a more recent occurrence, are a group of people who meet at a predetermined public location to do a spontaneous performance (often something of a theatrical nature like a song or dance), and then disperse into the crowd at the end. Flash mobs are usually instigated online, using various forms of online media to organise and coordinate the event. This can include mobile phones, email, and social networking sites. Although these "events started out as a way for these groups to mock the conformity of the general population", they have "instead become a symbol of spontaneity and fun around the world"(CharValiant, 2011). Flash Mobs have also become a form of advertising. T-Mobile has used this form of theatrics to their advantage, using them in several of their advertisements. Carolyn Thomas (2010) talks in her article about how T-Mobile is becoming synonymous with flash mobs, showing that the marketing campaign is working as people are instantly remembering the company name and linking it with the campaign. Australia is also getting on the flash mob advertising bandwagon, with the latest "Australian Cancer Council Biggest Morning Tea" launch at Brisbane's Queen Street Mall on the 18th April, 2011 (Cancerqld, 2011) and the viral Sydney Mardi Gras campaign filmed on Bondi Beach (RockYourBox, 2009). Although the link between public resource computing and flash mobs is tenuous at best, as another current form of online collaboration it is still well worth a mention. As public resource computing relies heavily on word-of-mouth advertising to increase its member numbers by using things like social-networking sites, so too does flash mob advertising rely on "going viral" through similar word-of-mouth usage.

Written by Caci Murphy, a Senior at Chartiers Valley High School(CharValiant, 2011), this resource is not necessarily as reliable a source as perhaps other more researched papers. Although well written, and factually accurate, a high school senior would be lacking both the technological knowledge and life experience to give an accurate view point to make this an authoritative resource. Cancerqld. (2011). Australia's Biggest Morning Tea Flash Mob. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w07Nq2h55Xo CharValiant. (2011). The CharValiant Staff. Retrieved from http://www.cvnewspaper.com/staff/ CharValiant. (2011). Flash Mobs: The Feel Good Phenomenon of the 21st Century. Retrieved from http://www.cvnewspaper.com/news/2011/03/14/flash-mobs-the-feel-good-phenomenon-of-the-21st-century/ RockYourBox. (2009). Say Cheese! Flash Mob On Bondi Beach [OFFICIAL]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao4DkbGbxl0 Thomas, C. (2010). T-Mobile and the flash mob marketing phenomenon. Retrieved from http://ethicalnag.org/2010/11/04/flash-mob/

This resource is written by David P. Anderson from the University of California, Berkeley, the original founder of the SETI @home Project (Gomes, 2006) and discusses public-resource computing in more detail. It talks about the benefits of it over grid-computing and goes into more detail about the BOINC (Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing) Platform for public-resource computing. Public-resource computing (also known as "global computing", "distributed computing" or "peer-to-peer computing") uses available resources on personal computers to do "scientific supercomputing" (Anderson, 2004). It also has the benefit of "encouraging public awareness of current scientific research". SETI @home, one of the most well known forms of public-resource computing, attracts millions of users worldwide and can provide 70 TeraFLOPS of sustained processing, versus approximately 35 TeraFLOPS from the largest conventional supercomputer (Anderson, 2004). The goals of BOINC include: * Reduce the barriers of entry to public-resource computing. * Share resources among autonomous projects * Support diverse applications * Reward participants There are now a number of projects that use BOINC other then SETI@home. These include: * Predictor@home - studies protein behaviour * Folding @home - studies protein folding, misfolding, aggregation, and related diseases. * Climateprediction.net - quantifies and reduces uncertainties in long-term climate prediction based on computer simulations. * Einstein@home - detects certain types of gravitational waves, such as those from spinning neutron stars, that can be detected only by using highly selective filtering techniques that require extreme computing power.

By participating in these projects members can feel like they are playing a small part in helping with curing disease, solving global warming, and other world issues. Attracting participants is always a goal of these projects so it's important that these computing programs give no real inconvenience to them. BOINC has a general preference option that allows members to set a number of features including how and when their computer resources are used. This includes "whether BOINC can do work while mouse/keyboard input is active", hours of use, how much disk space can be used, and the network bandwidth. BOINC allows for many different projects to use its systems/setup allowing for smaller research projects to take advantage of the greater computing capabilities. This could potentially in the future help out an unknown research make a global scientific discovery. Anderson, D. (2004). BOINC: A System for Public-Resource Computing and Storage. Retrieved from http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1032646.1033223 Gomes, L. (2006). How Many Computers Does It Take to Make Contact with E.T.s? Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115145653496392561-3YTEjOQhd0ZilADHfEf8hoK4BhA_20070628.html?mod=blogs

Spencer Ackerman is an American national security reporter and blogger. This article appeared in Wired magazine's national security blog, Danger Room. In this article, Ackerman describes how in late January, 2011, the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, responded to hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators protesting on the Egyptian streets by shutting off the internet and mobile phone access. The purpose of this was to keep the activists from organising further protests. This move did not work however, and the protesters didn't disperse. They did not have access to Facebook and Twitter, but instead took to the streets and protested in the traditional way. Al Jazeera, and other satellite news networks kept the public worldwide focused on the events. Mubarak then "began a brutal crackdown, with regime loyalists targeting dissidents and foreign journalists alike." (Ackerman, 2011) Despite the crackdown, says Ackerman, "the world still had viral-ready video footage of the truth of Egypt's precarious uprising", some of which can be viewed by clicking on the images in the article. A particular comment by a young female street protestor featured in one of the videos was interesting: "It's not about the internet," she said, "it's about the needs and demands of the Egyptian people". REFERENCE: Ackerman, S (February 4, 2011) Prayers, Protest, Police Brutality: Raw Videos From Egypt's Uprising Wired Retrieved 8th April, 2011 from http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/02/cairo-protest-videos/?pid=345

References: Ackerman, S. (2011). Prayers, Protest, Police Brutality: Raw Videos From Egypt's Uprising. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/02/cairo-protest-videos/?pid=345 Kravets, D. (2011). What's Fueling Mideast Protests? It's More Than Twitter. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/01/social-media-oppression/

The spotlight on the Northern Africa has been reignited on 15 April 2011 by release of the letter signed by US, British and French leaders. US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have said in a joint letter that there can be no peace in Libya while Muammar Gaddafi stays in power. They want to put a stop to the terrible horrors at Gaddafi's hands. The joint letter holds out the prospect of reconstruction for Libya with the help of the "UN and its members" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13090646). The 'domino effect' political situation in Northern Africa has been closely watched by the whole world. The Egypt attracted attention not just for its political protests but how the country's Internet and its services were shut down by its government during the protests. This demonstrates a level of power government can have over its people and communication. At the time of revolution the Egypt's dictator Hosni Mubarak messages and intentions were clear to grasp by anyone paying attention to politics: It is me 'Hosni Murabak' who controls the power in this country including the media; shutting down of the Internet and its services will put a stop to a fast communication platform for Egypt's people and connection with rest of the world; Egypt doesn't want any interferences from other countries, this is 'our revolution'; we will sort it out and I will stay in power as long as possible. According to Spencer Ackerman 'Suddenly, a protest movement that used Facebook pages and Twitter hashtags to coordinate and push its message out was back to the old-fashioned methods of street politicking'. However, according to other media coverage the Twitter was found as most powerful tool in network communication during the Egypt's Internet service government shut down. (e.g. Bergstrom, G. (2011). Egypt: The First Twitter

This ABC online article highlights some important aspects about the use of social-media and the role it played organising, coordinating and documenting Egypt's 2011 uprising. Firstly, the initial ban of web services such as Facebook and Twitter was an indication of the Egyptian government recognising the power, connectedness and participatory nature of social-media . In an attempt to silence the demonstrators and to avoid a repeat of the 2009 Iran revolution, Egyptian authorities took it one step further and not only blocked certain web site but completely shut down access to the entire world-wide-web (Stone, 2009). This act alone illustrates the fragility of the Internet, despite its decentralised design. Literally, with the flick of a switch, Internet Service Providers acting on government instructions blocked web access within the country. It can be argued the political protesting in Egypt would occur with our without a social-media influence; however, it is still important to examine the length Egyptian demonstrators went to in order to circumvent the Internet block and continue to take leverage from popular social media services. An example is the use of 'voice-to-tweet' - a cooperative development by Google, Twitter and an online voice provider called SayNow. This innovation allowed Egyptians to call a telephone number and leave a message which would automatically be converted to text, published on Twitter and tagged with #Egypt. This example highlights Twitter and new media being used for collaboration and participation; specifically between citizen activists and journalists around the world. Much like the Internet, news media was also blocked within Egypt and reporters faced the same communication challenges as everybody else, this workaround however was an effective way for Egyptians to stay connected and ensure their stories were continuing to be voiced to the eagerly listening global audience. Stone, B. (June 15, 2009). Social Net

The events that unfolded during the uprising in Egypt are a good example of how flexible and mobile social networks can be in relation to effective communication between members of society. Through the Egyptian government shutting off all Internet connections collaborative efforts were made by both Twitter and Google to still allow information to be distributed throughout the country. As stated above, the speak-to-tweet services were available in which voicemail messages were left and then converted into text messages, which were then posted via twitter (ABC News, 2011). This is a great example of how devices can be implemented and used to adjust to the situation at hand. In one of my previous posts I talked about the United States becoming concerned around social media's effectiveness in relation to social protest, in which they have made plans to impose legislation to create a 'kill switch' to re-create what the Egyptian government previous did, cut all lines of Internet communication in times of political disturbance (Grubb & Moses, 2011). The elements that unfolded in Egypt after the lines of Internet communication were cut is a good example of how other devices can be implemented for information to be distributed amongst society. It is not as simple as cutting off an Internet connection and assume that collaborative communication will cease. Just as the US government has seen the warning signs of the power of social networks, society has also seen the weakness in relying on a national Internet service. 'Mesh' Networks as I previously stated in another post are currently underdevelopment for mobile phones in which there is no central device, instead each node is equipped with radio communications which acts as a relay point to other nodes, placing the pressure off obtaining a connection from a main server (Gedda ,2010).

References: ABC News (2011). Voice tweets sidestep Egypt web ban. Retrieved April 17, 2011 from: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/01/3126626.htm Grubb, B; Moses, A. (2011). As Egypt goes offline US gets Internet 'kill switch' bill ready. Retrieved April 17, 2011. From http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/as-egypt-goes-offline-us-gets-internet-kill-switch-bill-ready-20110131-1aah3.html Gedda, R. (2010). Mobile Phone Coverage Expanded Via 'Mesh' Networks. Retrieved April, 17, 2011. from http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/352948/mobile_phone_coverage_expanded_via_mesh_networks/.

[Please note: This comment is in two parts due to Diigo restrictions on length] The global climate is experiencing both a "power transition," and a "power diffusion." This TED Talk is useful to studies of flash mobs because it shows that individuals and organizations no longer need vast amounts of money to network and collaborate globally with others. Additionally, Nye highlights the fact that traditional patterns of leadership will not work effectively today and that in order for an organization to progress and be proactive, a mix of traditional strength and power infused with "soft power" is required. The rise of the Internet and mobile computer-generated communication has assisted the average person to gain the same potential power that was once the exclusive domain of large corporations and wealthy individuals. "Computing and communication costs have fallen a thousandfold between 1970 and the beginning of this century." This power diffusion is within reach for all of us but people are still not thinking of these tools in very innovative ways. People are still focusing on the rise and fall of great powers, which really only tell us about psychology and not reality. Traditional projections such as the Goldman-Sachs index are linear and one-dimensional. However the progress of the world has never been linear, and has always been comprised of many diverse facets or factors. So these simplified projections are not telling the truth about the way the economy is progressing. The area of narrative is what needs to be adjusted, using what Nye calls "soft power" or the ability to organize networks and elicit co-operation, which are important factors when organizing the delivery of Flash Mobs. [Please navigate to the comment uploaded on April 11, 2011]

The Impact of TED on Collaboration and Innovation. http://www.ted.com/talks/chris_anderson_how_web_video_powers_global_innovation.html A great source of serious and diverse material on a wide range of topics is the website TED - Ideas worth Spreading. The first step in collaboration is to create a wide ranging appreciation of the subject matter. Before people can commit to task they need to have an information source that establishes the underlying ideas. In this talk TED's Chris Anderson says the rise of web video is driving a worldwide phenomenon he calls Crowd Accelerated Innovation -- a self-fueling cycle of learning that could be as significant as the invention of print. One of the points that reverberate with most people is Chris' statement that: "Face-to-face communication has been fine-tuned by millions of years of evolution. That's what's made it into this mysterious, powerful thing it is. Someone speaks, there's resonance in all these receiving brains, the whole group acts together." Chris concludes that thousands of people are figuring out new ways to collaborate with increasing knowledge and he describes what the next stage of TED's evolution has to be. He says that TED Talks can't be a one-way process, one-to-many. The future is many-to-many. They are looking at ways to make it easier for the global TED community, to respond to speakers, to contribute ideas, and maybe even their own TED Talks. It is this spreading of Ideas that underlay the age of Internet collaboration. This is the source of power diffusion that Nye talks about. "I'm an idealist. I really think people can change the world" Ted Curator Chris Anderson http://www.ted.com/speakers/chris_anderson_ted.html Works Cited Anderson, C. (2010, Septemebr). How web video powers global innovation. Retrieved April 7, 2011, from TED: http://www.ted.com/talks/chris_anderson_how_web_video_powers_global_innovation.html

[Part 2 of comment from April 6, 2011] Topic of Study: Flash Mobs. As we prepare for the future, the ability to co-operate, collaborate, and organize networks is going to be of prime importance. This does not mean that "hard power" or military strength and keeping a balance is not important, but that the concept of power needs to be incorporated with new and innovative ways of power diffusion. Therefore the ability to use all available tools and coordinate input from globally networked areas will be vital for businesses and organizations to keep abreast of trends and capture market attention. For example, spontaneous acts of people-powered crowd activity such as those of Flash Mobs (that rely on social media use and Internet enabled technology) if used for advertising purposes, will enable subtle and more overt messages to be broadcast in unusual ways and possibly capturing more market attention for the product or service than more traditional methods. REFERENCES Nye, J. (2010). Global Power Shifts. TED Talks. Filmed July 2010. Posted October 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2011 from: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/joseph_nye_on_global_power_shifts.html

The Social Issues Research Centre (SIRC) is an independent, non-profit organisation that conducts research on social and lifestyle issues. It aims to provide balanced perspectives on social issues and to promote rational debate based on evidence rather than ideology (Social Issues Research Centre, 2011) . In this paper Elanor Taylor, a social researcher, tries to understand the nature of flash mobs and whether they are just for fun or whether they are potentially a new form of protest movement. Sean Savage, credited with naming flash mobs (2006) is quoted as saying that "If anyone tells you they know what the point is, they either don't know what they are talking about, or they're lying" (as cited in Taylor, 2003) . Taylor provides a set of instructions for a London flash which reveal a "combination of military efficiency, complete anonymity, rapid communication and organisation by internet"(Taylor, 2003). The motivation to attend is this left up to the individual. Taylor indicates that there are some, such as the website why-war.com (Why War?, 2003) and cyclist activist group Critical Mass (Carlssson, 2011a) that would like to see flash mobs put to a political purpose rather than be apolitical.

Chris Carlsson, founder of Critical Mass wrote: Critical Mass is a movement with no leaders or formal organization behind it. No one in charge - which is another way of saying "everyone is in charge!" There are as many ideas about what Critical Mass is as there are participants (2011b) Taylor questions whether this can actually happen: "what use is a political protest with no-figure head?" (2003). In light of recent events in Iran and Egypt I think Taylor has been a little premature in discounting flash mobs as a form of political protest. Carlssson, C.(2011a). Critical Mass. Retrieved from http://www.sfcriticalmass.org/ Carlssson, C. (2011b, January 26). Critical Mass & Radical Politics: A Forum [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.sfcriticalmass.org/page/2/ Savage, S. (2006, March 29). Flash Mob Flashback . Cheesebikini? [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.cheesebikini.com/2006/03/29/flash-mob-flashback/ Social Issues Research Centre.(2011). About SIRC. Retrieved from http://www.sirc.org/about/about.html Taylor, E. (2003). Dadaist lunacy or the future of protest? : An introduction to the world of flash-mobbing. Social Issues Research Centre. Retrieved from http://www.sirc.org/articles/flash_mob.shtml Why War? (2003, August 1). An Introduction to Swarming and the Future of Protesting [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.why-war.com/features/2003/07/swarming.html

Are FlashMobs Collaborative Behavior? The question arises as to whether or not FlashMobs are truly collaborative behavior. While there is definitely a conversation taking place and a resultant activity, this resultant activity does not have a specific achievement or productive task to complete. A talk from Howard Reingold (Rheingold, 2005) describes the history of human collaboration and has some ideas about the potential benefits of worldwide social collaborative behavior. This talk also includes a discussion of social dilemmas: the prisoner's dilemma and the tragedy of the commons. These are important factors in understanding why people collaborate or co-operate. Collaboration is the basis for bringing together the knowledge, experience and skills of multiple persons to contribute to the development of a new product, idea or activity. Collaboration is a more effective problem solving solution than individuals performing narrow tasks in support of a defined plan or programme. Essential requirements for effective collaboration include early involvement and the availability of resources to effectively collaborate. This uses a culture that supports teamwork, cooperation and collaboration as well as co-location or virtual co- location and some form of collaboration technology. Flashmobs seem to lack the problem solving aspects of true collaborative behaviour. It is more a themed social gathering than a co-operative task solving exercise. Works Cited Rheingold, H. (2005, February). Howard Rheingold on collaboration. Retrieved April 7, 2011, from Ted: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html

This academic paper explores anonymous' internal processes as they collaborated over the internet to co-ordinate both on and offline protests against the church of Scientology in February 2008. The authors analyze the "public, online sources used by members of Anonymous to plan, discuss, coordinate, and execute" their campaign; as well as data "drawn from a quantitative analysis of interactions amongst (the projects) participants at a wiki site"(Underwood, P., Welser, H. 2011). This innovative and skillful use of online networking and collaboration tools allowed Anonymous to successfully mobilize and co-ordinate group activity on a large scale. The work identifies Anonymous' structure as a decentralized network with little "evidence of official leadership positions or formal organizational structures" (Underwood, P., Welser, H. 2011) guiding the groups actions. These processes are seemingly organic to the internet and the study shows how working in this way significantly increased Anonymous' flexibility, as well as how this "collaborative structure allowed the group to work rapidly and democratically"(Underwood, P., Welser, H. 2011). Other advantages of the groups' use of decentralized network structures were found in the "development of highly dynamic and emergent strategies as many individuals with varying ideas and talents... work simultaneously on a project"; and the fact that "large volumes of participants can coordinate their actions even in the absence of an official bureaucratic leadership" (Underwood, P., Welser, H. 2011). references Underwood, P., Welser, H. (2011) 'The Internet is Here': Emergent Coordination and Innovation of Protest Forms in Digital Culture. Available from:http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~welser/Underwood.Welser.2011.pdf

This article specifically explores "Project Chanology", a project of the worldwide organisation known as Anonymous against the Church of Scientology. The authors point out "that social movements are a basic foundation of contemporary democratic societies" as well as "providing outlets for political positions to be voiced and grievances to be aired"(Underwood & Welser, 2011). Importantly, it is crucial that people participating can see value in the cause and in the form that action may take. This article attracted my attention due to its similarity and differences to flash mobs. Both organisations have no formal organisation structure yet they are able to mobilise large numbers of people by utilising Internet communications (Facebook, twitter, email and Internet Relay Chat (IRC)). Another similarity is that in both cases the public displays appear bizarre and absurd to outsiders. In the case of most flash mobs, the idea is to simply have fun (Taylor, 2003). For Anonymous it is to "present itself as a movement about making a difference through having fun " as well as setting itself apart from "typical street demonstrations"(Underwood & Welser, 2011). But there are also differences. Each flash mob is distinctly separate operation whereas Anonymous has a group identity. Underwood and Welser do point out that members of the group do balk at the notion of being seen as a traditional group (2011).

Participants in Anonymous activities are also required to learn more about the group and its actions. This requirement seems to be a way of strengthening bonds and a cultural knowledge. There is no such requirement to participate in a flash mob only the desire to have fun. What these movements show is that if the cause (whether it be fun or a political point) is right then it is possible to bring together large numbers of people through the use of new media. REFERENCES: Taylor, E. (2003). Dadaist lunacy or the future of protest? : An introduction to the world of flash-mobbing. Social Issues Research Centre. Retrieved from http://www.sirc.org/articles/flash_mob.shtml Underwood, P., & Welser, H. T. (2011). 'The Internet is Here": Emergent Coordination and Innovation of Protest Forms in Digital Culture. Paper presented at the iConference 2011, Seattle. Retrieved from http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~welser/Underwood.Welser.2011.pdf