1 WELCOME TO THE NEW POWER WORLD

Power, as philosopher Bertrand Russell puts it, is the “ability to produce intended effects.” (Location 23)

Tags: power

Note: .power

Old power works like a currency. It is held by few. Once gained, it is jealously guarded, and the powerful have a substantial store of it to spend. It is closed, inaccessible, and leader-driven. It downloads, and it captures. (Location 33)

New power operates differently, like a current. It is made by many. It is open, participatory, and peer-driven. It uploads, and it distributes. Like water or electricity, it’s most forceful when it surges. The goal with new power is not to hoard it but to channel it. (Location 36)

Far from the organic free-roaming paradise the early internet pioneers imagined, there is a growing sense that we are living in a world of participation farms, where a small number of big platforms have fenced, and harvest for their own gain, the daily activities of billions. (Location 192)

Tags: facebook

Note: .facebook

2 THINKING OLD POWER, THINKING NEW POWER

New power models, at their best, reinforce the human instinct to cooperate (rather than compete) by rewarding those who share their own assets or ideas, spread those of others, or build on existing ideas to make them better. (Location 330)

Michael Gove, a senior government minister who favored Brexit, exploited this sentiment, declaring during the campaign that “people in this country have had enough of experts,” pitting the economists who predicted Brexit would be bad for Britain against everyday people. This ploy enraged experts like the particle physicist Brian Cox, who said in response: “It’s the road back to the cave. Being an expert does not mean that you are someone with a vested interest in something; it means you spend your life studying something. You’re not necessarily right—but you’re more likely to be right than someone who’s not spent their life studying it.” (Location 386)

Tags: experts, brexit

Note: .brexit .experts experts spend their life studying something. They may not be right but are more likely to be right than thoe who dont

3 FROM SOUND BITES TO MEME DROPS: HOW IDEAS SPREAD

six qualities the Heaths see behind a sticky idea: Simple—simplicity is the key Unexpected—surprises you and makes you want to know more Concrete—creates a clear mental picture for people Credible—uses statistics, expert endorsements, etc. Emotional—appeals to deep human instincts Stories—takes you on a journey that helps you see how an existing problem might change (Location 566)

Extensible—The idea can be easily customized, remixed, and shaped by the participant. It is structured with a common stem that encourages its communities to alter and extend it. (Location 585)