Includes bibliographical references and index.

Welcome to the new power world -- Thinking old power, thinking new power -- From sound-bites to meme-drops: how ideas spread -- How to build a crowd -- What makes new power communities work (and why they sometimes don't) -- What makes new power communities work (and how they fuse with the wider world) -- The participation premium -- Taking the turn from old to new power -- Leadership -- The art of blending power -- New power at work -- The future.

"For the vast majority of human history, the rules of power were clear. To get ahead or get things done, you mastered "old power": closed, inaccessible, and leader-driven. Once gained, old power is jealously guarded, and the powerful spend it carefully, like currency. But our ubiquitous connectivity has made possible a new form of power, one that operates differently, like a current. "New power" is power made by many; it is open, participatory, and peer-driven. Like water or electricity, it is most forceful when it surges. The challenge with new power is not to hoard it but to channel it. New power is what fuels the rise of participatory platforms like Facebook and YouTube, peer-based services like Uber and Airbnb, and rapid-fire social movements like #BlackLivesMatter. It propelled the unlikely success of Barack Obama's 2008 campaign and the unlikelier victory of Donald Trump in 2016. And it gives ISIS its power to propagate its brand and distribute its violence. Even old power institutions like the papacy, NASA, and LEGO have figured out how to channel new power to stage improbable reinventions. In New Power, the social visionaries Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms provide the tools for using new power to successfully spread an idea, lead a movement, or build a career in the twenty-first century. Drawing on examples from business, politics, popular culture, and social justice, they explain the new world we live in--a world of crowds, chaos, and hyperconnection. A world in which, more and more, everyone expects to participate"--