How To Smart Mob

Determine your overall goal. Do you want to raise awareness about a social issue? Protest a political decision? Organize an art performance? Clarify what you want to achieve.

Figure out the specific act that will help achieve your goal. The key is that everyone participates together at the same exact moment.

Make sure you’re prepared: Scope out your location, get contact information for the people you plan to invite, and set up a group list on your phone, so you can text everyone by hitting just one button.

Set the date and time for the smart mob, and roughly calculate how long it will take for participants to reach the location. You may want to alert people to the date ahead of time, but keep all other information secret.

The key to a smart mob lies in its lightning-fast execution and mass distribution. Don’t write a dissertation—text messages are generally limited to 160 characters—and encourage people to forward the message along.

If you want to publicize your smart mob’s actions, contact the media just before the smart mob swarms, and don’t include many details to keep an element of surprise.

Hit send! Now head to your smart mob location.

Perform the collective action. Disperse calmly and quietly. Success!