The Innovation Diaries

Always wanted to be an undercover agent and cause havoc in public?

Then I suggest joining Improv Everywhere’s social network where members are ‘undercover agents’ and have a license to cause scenes of chaos and fun in public places.

That’s right you heard me. Improv Everywhere’s agents create ‘missions’ where agents meet together at a designated public place and play a prank with the general public. The result from the havoc created is hilarious with people looking perplexed shaking their heads unbeknown they’re being tricked.

Improv Everywhere’s popularity has grown significantly since its first mission back in 2002 when the creator Charlie Todd passed himself off as singer-songwriter Ben Folds at a local bar— getting free drinks and telephone numbers all night with the help of his seven friends. Now with over 16,215 agents the phenomenon of this flash mobbing is growing globally with their freeze event mission ran by agents as far as Singapore.

And they’re getting more creative …

So why should I become member of yet another social network when I’m already busy with Facebook, Bebo and MySpace, I hear you cry? Improv Everywhere brings the concept of social networking to another level - as agents you can be creative and have a sense of fun; creating missions and gathering a community of strangers who share a love for pranks to an experience that is both thrilling and entertaining. Being an undercover agent is certainly more fun than poking strangers in Facebook.