picnicmob.org

How picnicmob.org works:

• First we ask you 30 mostly silly (yet insightful) questions to get an idea of your interests and tastes. We will not use this information for anything other than organizing the picnicmobs (and definitely won’t give it to any third parties) We won’t even ask your name- We won’t ask for any specific info besides a contact email. We created this site for fun, not for profit of any kind.
• Next, we take a map of a public park and the answers people gave who live near your city, and throw them into a computer program that calculates (using simulated annealing) the best place for everyone in the park to sit so that people with the same interests sit closest to each other. (No, we aren’t really using a supercomputer… yet :-)
• Once enough people have signed up in a given city we’ll announce an official “picnicmob” day! Our goal is a thousand people per town. That’s a lot of people, but that’s how many we think are needed for this idea to really start getting interesting… We need your help- Tell you friends about our site if you really want this to happen! Once the date comes close you will be emailed a customized map of the neighborhood park (sample) that shows exactly where you should sit and fun stats on the various “neighborhoods” in the park. Check my blog for updates and to post comments.
• On the day of the picnic (always a Sunday at noon) everyone shows up at the park and we’ll all just have a big picnic! Talk to your neighbors- If everything works out, they’ll have very similar interests to yourself! Come participate in this fun art experiment – No matter who you are (young, old, couples, students) we hope to see you at a picnicmob! (Note to couples- Just fill out a single questionaire together so you’ll sit together…)