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Go Here, Do This: Location + Collective Action

Event Interactive 2011
Format Panel
Organizer Sam Altman Loopt
Description Grassroots movements, flash mobs and now group purchasing--they all have an intimate relationship with location; it’s the linchpin that ties the movement together. For some time now, advertisers have tried to say “Go here. Buy this. Do it now.” But as consumers, we’ve been pretty reluctant to give in easily—there’s always another holiday for a car dealership to celebrate, and a liquidation sale at a furniture store just doesn’t motivate us anymore. Flash mobs, grassroots movements—they have been exceedingly difficult to create. They’re purely organic movements, born out of internet chatrooms, with a bitter reaction to rigid organization. The holy grail—a sudden influx of consumers—has always been just out of reach for most businesses. But more and more, brands are finding interesting ways to cultivate flash mobs of their own. Location based services play an important role in aiding these movements. Whether it be group purchasing sites created around local communities or mobile check in apps with flocks of users descending on a bar or restaurant, new tools continue to emerge for businesses and brands to create their own mobs. We'll look at what tools are available for building mobs and how they are being focused towards completing a specific action. We'll envision what tools have yet to emerge. And we'll explore the delicate balance between pushing an action or a message while maintaining the organic feel that characterizes these movements.
Questions
Answered
  1. What tools are available to businesses and how effective are these tools?
  2. As these services become more mainstream, will they be less effective at creating organic movements?
  3. What happens when movements spiral out of the control of the brand or advertiser?
  4. What opportunities do brands have to shape movements that already exist around them?
  5. What is the importance of mobile phones in these movements?
Level Intermediate
Category Geolocation
Tags flashmob, location, Social Networking