LOCATION: Union Square, San Francisco
TIME: 6:44pm 07/30/2003
INSTRUCTIONS:
Synchronize your watch to the current time at http://www.time.gov/timezone.cgi?Pacific/d/-8/java.

If you arrive early, feel free to wish passersby a very Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. Be merry and bright.

At about 6:44pm, begin forming a circle around the tall pillar/statue in the middle on Union Square, facing the statue. Gaze upon it as if it’s a beautiful Christmas tree. Feel free to oooo and ahhh.

At precisely 6:47pm, take out your kazoos and play “Jingle Bells”, beginning at the “Dashing through the snow” part. If you do not have a kazoo, simply hum along. Hum just one verse and one chorus, then pause for ten seconds. After ten seconds, Hum a moving version of “White Christmas”, the complete song. When the song has finished, shout “Merry Christmas” and greet the people near you warmly. Spread the holiday joy for three minutes, then immediately dispurse.

I have a small quantity of extra kazoos that I will be handing out to those without. I will be at Border’s Books near Union Square at about 6:15pm in the Computer section wearing a blue Cal hat. DO NOT FORM A CROWD THERE. Spread out, browse, look casual. Only one person at a time should slyly walk up to me and ask me if I know the way to Tustin, grab their item from me then head on out to the rendezvous point. If I have run out of kazoos, I’ll proceed to Union Square myself and be amongst the glad-handers.

See you there!

Is this cactus giving me the finger, or am I just being paranoid again?

Where has Rob been? Under freakin’ water, that’s where. Between wedding planning, a massive PeopleSoft rollout and FlockSmart, there’s not been a whole lot of time left. But, hey, it’s all good.

Here’s a quick list of mob groups forming around the world. Short but sweet for now:

The Minneapolis Mob Project — I’ve been in some contact with one of the main organizers who is a really cool guy. These folks are lucky to have the Great Mall of America in their midst, which, to me, is just eminently flockable. Of course, they also have rather twitchy cops, but I expect that local constabulatories will be on edge until this whole Flock/Smart Mob phenomenon spreads wider.

The Mob-Stirs — This is a UK group that has gotten a lot of traction lately. Another group of fine folks who are organizing their own gigs. Yay for non-US mobs!!!

Also: keep your eyes peeled for mobs forming in Chicago soon as well as SFBA Mob numero DOS some time this week. Oh yeah! And, as always, folks are listing mobs like they’re goin’ out of style over at FlockSmart. I need to add a reputation system, email rating and RSVP system and search capabilities post haste! I’m currently about 50 percent done in implementing Phorums over there. I just need to integrate my homebrew login system with Phorum’s. Kind of a tall task.

Added bonus: Rob Zazueta, now available in German! (I appear about halfway through the story). Unfortunately, all of my knowledge of German is from Wayne Newton.

There’s something very sexy about a hot chick in vinyl playing a banjo.

Just got back from the Dixie Chicks concert with my D down in San Jose. She’s a big fan, and I dig the Chicks’ music. It was a terrific concert. The music was great, the folks were loud and enthusiastic and set was VERY cool. It was a theater in the round kinda deal at the HP Pavilion (a.k.a. “The Tank”) so they started by lifting a giant tube-like curtain. The floor of their stage area was made form what appeared to be flat screen displays that shifted color and pattern throughout, at one time being a crazy confetti-colored walk, at another becoming a lazy swamp. In the middle, a large “tree” dropped down (it was made of fabric) with some fluttering object following it that looked like either butterflies or leaves. It was all just very, very cool.

FlockSmart made a harder soft launch today. The ability to organize flocks and such is now out there for the public, but the email and rating system are still in the works. I realize these two are, like, the linchpins of the whole thing, but I’ve been so amazingly crammed with my full time job that I haven’t had as much of a chance to work on it as I expected.

Speaking of which, dear God, won’t someone who works for a company with an inkling of professionalism please hire me? I’m so damn sick of having my work kicked back to me because people refuse to release their requirements. It would be nice to work for a company where I’m not the only one with professional development experience. /rant.

So, back to FlockSmart: the email system is, like, 90% done, I just need to test it. The reputation system is about 25% done, but I shelved it for last since it’s useless until some flocks are held. It’s all about priorities. So go check out the site and let me know what you think. I’m open to suggestions for improvements and changes.

So, word has it that the folks at the Lucas Ranch are working on easing the transition from Episode III to the stylin’ 70s ways of Episode IV by introducing some of those groovy fashions in the next movie. I love what they’ve done with C3PO:

This is, by far, one of the best Fark Photoshops ever.

FYI: Radio silence is due to the fact that I am *CRAMMING* on getting FlockSmart up and running by Monday. Cross your fingers.

So you may have read the story in Wired about the SFBA mob. Thanks to that, the list has skyrocketed to almost 250 people! Very, very cool.

The site mentioned in the article, FlockSmart, is still getting up and going (ran into some technical issues with my host) and I’ll definitely give the big ol’ announcement here when it’s all up and running. So, watch this space and, in the mean time, you can sign up above.

I plan on announcing another mob very soon. There’s also another group out there who have set up a Yahoo group for mobs in SF. They’re also planning an upcoming event and I’ll probably attend it myself. Check them out at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mob_Project/. Not sure what their plans are at this point, but I’ve been back and forth with them a little bit and they sound like good folks.

It was amazing! Hundreds, HUNDREDS, of people descended upon the Gold Dust Lounge precisely at 4:46 this afternoon, all for Mob #0. Meanwhile, in reality, about 10-20 very cool, very understanding and excited folks joined me for the San Francisco Bay Area’s first actual Mob. And, you know what, I’m going to call this a success.

Here’s why: The folks I talked to were excited and all asked me what and when the next one would be. Being my usual cagey self, I was vague and didn’t give details, other than to say that FlockSmart.com would be the future home for these efforts, once it goes live sometime in next week or so. They let me know where I went wrong (no, I’m really not sure what I was thinking holding it at 4:46pm. I took a VERY late lunch so I could make it, didn’t dawn on me that other people may not be as flexible) and gave me a lot of encouragement and good ideas for the future. And I plan on helping to carry the torch.

Here’s the thing: there’s a real desire for these kinds of things to take place. I’ve received lots of email and read the message boards. Folks are excited for something new and interesting. I was the first guy to get some traction on this in the Bay Area, and I want to make it easier for other folks here, as well in other major metro areas, to do the same. I keep saying it over and over, but I mean it – I don’t want to be a leader as much as I want to be a facilitator. I want to make these smart mobs possible and make it easy for other folks to jump on. I had hoped for a ton of people to show up today, but I got a solid group of core folks that really got along and all agreed on the potential for these things. I’m positively elated by it.

So, keep you eyes and ears open for the next one. If you couldn’t make it, please take a moment and tell me why. I have yet to hear feedback that hasn’t been helpful, and I want to gather as much of it as I can and share it with everyone. And, when FlockSmart goes live, I hope you’ll jump in and be part of this growing community. I’m not doing it for any personal gain, and I don’t expect to make money from this (hell, it’ll probably end up costing me in the end), I just want to be a part of something very, very cool. And, if I have to be the one to make it happen, I’m cool with that.

So thanks for the folks who showed up and thanks for everyone who has joined the list, visited this site and sent me email. Keep it all coming. The next social revolution is growing, and we’re just starting to ride it.