A cash mob is like a flash mob only it exercises consumer power rather than dance moves. San Diego's first cash mob event was in December, tonight there will be a new one.
Last December, Lauren Way was inspired to organize San Diego's first cash mob by her friend Andrew Samtoy, an El Cajon native who now lives in Cleveland. He was one of the first to execute a cash mob.
"People feel like they themselves individually can have a small impact on a business and collectively can have a big impact," said Samtoy. "People want to make a difference and I also think that part of it is that people want to take back their local economies."
Cash mobs use social media to organize people to "mob" a small business with the intent of spending $20 each. Clues are given out on Facebook and Twitter but the location is kept secret until just before the event. Way said it's a means for people to show activism in their community without the risks posed by joining the Occupy movement.
"Yeah this is it's really about realizing that making an immediate tangible difference in your community is easy and fun," she says, "And that's my favorite thing about cash mobs, that it's silly and it's fun inherently."
Anyone interested in participating in tonight's cash mob should meet in Old Town at 6:30 p.m. Specific details will be revealed later today on FaceBook and Twitter.
