About this project

The Real World is an exploratory documentary project about the validity of virtual communities as “real communities”. This project focuses on flash-mob communities in Melbourne, Australia that are based online. It features two communities that have been very active in recent years planning and executing annual activities that are attended by hundreds, sometimes even thousands of participants.

While these communities are based online (in both cases, on Facebook), they have also managed to project physical presence in real life. The question is: does this make them a "real community" in the traditional sense?

Zombie Shuffle

The Melbourne Zombie Shuffle is an annual organised event that sees hundreds and thousands of the undead shuffling/crawling/lurching through Melbourne city streets. What began as a (relatively) small gathering of zombies in 2006, has exploded into an unstoppable force in recent years. 2010 brought about highest number of zombie participants, with a reported 4,000 - 6,000 zombies wreaking havoc throughout the city. The community exists on Facebook and all interaction leading up to each event, as well as photo and video dissemination occurs almost exclusively online. See: Melbourne Zombie Shuffle 2010

Pillow Fight

The Melbourne Pillow Fight is an extension of the annual International Pillow Fight Day, held in cities around the world like New York City, Toronto, Barcelona, Seoul, Paris and of course, Melbourne. 2010 marked the third anniversary of Melbourne Pillow Fight and saw about 400 deadly serious pillow fighters participating, fully armed with their feather pillows and flannel . This community also exists online and all communication is made via Facebook and word-of-mouth. See: Melbourne Pillow Fight 2010


	About this project The Real World is an exploratory documentary project about the validity of virtual communities as “real communities”. This project focuses on flash-mob communities in Melbourne, Australia that are based online. It features two communities that have been very active in recent years planning and executing annual activities that are attended by hundreds, sometimes even thousands of participants. While these communities are based online (in both cases, on Facebook), they have also managed to project physical presence in real life. The question is: does this make them a "real community" in the traditional sense? Zombie Shuffle The Melbourne Zombie Shuffle is an annual organised event that sees hundreds and thousands of the undead shuffling/crawling/lurching through Melbourne city streets. What began as a (relatively) small gathering of zombies in 2006, has exploded into an unstoppable force in recent years. 2010 brought about highest number of zombie participants, with a reported 4,000 - 6,000 zombies wreaking havoc throughout the city. The community exists on Facebook and all interaction leading up to each event, as well as photo and video dissemination occurs almost exclusively online. See: Melbourne Zombie Shuffle 2010 Pillow Fight The Melbourne Pillow Fight is an extension of the annual International Pillow Fight Day, held in cities around the world like New York City, Toronto, Barcelona, Seoul, Paris and of course, Melbourne. 2010 marked the third anniversary of Melbourne Pillow Fight and saw about 400 deadly serious pillow fighters participating, fully armed with their feather pillows and flannel . This community also exists online and all communication is made via Facebook and word-of-mouth. See: Melbourne Pillow Fight 2010	past events melbourne zombie shuffle 2010 // 1 May melbourne pillow fight 2010 // 10 Apr future events where's wally hunt melbourne // 3 Jul
about the project community theory pages virtual communities are real communities // like virtual communities are NOT real communities // like friends the creator