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Sunday 13th March 2011

• Go Here, Do This: Location + Collective Action

  by Sam Altman, Clive Thompson and Jill Okawa Fletcher

  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.

  LEVEL: Intermediate

  • Activism
  • Flashmob

  At 3:30pm to 4:30pm, Sunday 13th March

  In Salon J, Hilton Austin Downtown