Editing Flash mob (section)

===Precedents and precursors===
In 1973, the story "[[Flash Crowd]]" by [[Larry Niven]] described a concept similar to flash mobs.<ref>Nold, Christian (2003). [http://www.softhook.com/legible.htm "Legible Mob"]. p. 23.</ref> With the invention of popular and very inexpensive [[teleportation]], an argument at a shopping mall—which happens to be covered by a news crew—quickly swells into a riot. In the story, broadcast coverage attracts the attention of other people, who use the widely available technology of the teleportation booth to swarm first that event—thus intensifying the riot—and then other events as they happen. Commenting on the social impact of such mobs, one character (articulating the police view) says, "We call them flash crowds, and we watch for them." In related short stories, they are named as a prime location for illegal activities (such as pickpocketing and looting) to take place. [[Lev Grossman]] suggests that the story title is a source of the term "flash mob".<ref>[[Lev Grossman|Grossman, Lev]], (June 13, 2012). [https://entertainment.time.com/2012/06/13/lord-of-the-ringworld-in-praise-of-larry-niven/ "Lord of the Ringworld: In Praise of Larry Niven"]. ''Time''.</ref>

[[File:Córdoba 2015 10 23 2764 (26152295081).jpg|thumb|People dancing at the Eutopia 15 Flashmob Event while crossing Puerta del Puente in [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]], [[Spain]] (2015)]]
Flash mobs began as a form of [[performance art]].<ref name="time" /> While they started as an apolitical act, flash mobs may share superficial similarities to political [[Demonstration (people)|demonstrations]].  In the 1960s, groups such as the Yippies used street theatre to expose the public to political issues.<ref>Cosmic Trigger III, Robert Anton Wilson, 1995, New Falcon Publications</ref>  Flash mobs can be seen as a specialized form of [[smart mob]],<ref name="fibre">{{cite news|url=http://journal.fibreculture.org/issue6/issue6_nicholson.html|author=Judith A. Nicholson|title=Flash! Mobs in the Age of Mobile Connectivity|publisher=Fibreculture Publications/Open Humanities Press|access-date=July 15, 2009|archive-date=December 2, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202045638/http://journal.fibreculture.org/issue6/issue6_nicholson.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> a term and concept proposed by author [[Howard Rheingold]] in his 2002 book ''[[Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution]]''.<ref name="cnn2">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/03/03/timep.smart.mobs.tm/| title=Day of the smart mobs|author=Chris Taylor|date=March 3, 2003|publisher=CNN}}</ref>