You couldn’t wish for two better people to write this explanation and exploration of new power than Henry Timms and Jeremy Heimans. Heimans founded GetUp!, a non-partisan political engagement organisation in his native Australia. It has more members than all of the country’s political parties combined. Timms is executive director of 92nd Street Y, a cultural centre. He had the idea of #GivingTuesday to encourage philanthropic acts (inspired by the capitalistic Black Friday). Like all good memes, it has been adopted and adapted globally, and is a perfect example of how, as the two men note, “a movement is successful when it moves on its own”.
But what is “New Power”? It is about values and, more importantly, how those values are structured and realised. New power focuses on collaboration and participation and transparency. Its methods include crowdsourcing, social media campaigns and decentralisation. “Old-power” institutions have strict, formal structures, centralised power and tend to operate esoterically.
Anyone other than those completely disengaged with world events will have noticed the growth of new power; and, in some areas, the ways old power has either dug in or attempted to adapt. Just one of the areas in which this book excels is in its carefully selected but abundant case studies. These are global and cross commerce, politics, entertainment, the charity sector and social media. There is #BlackLivesMatter in the US; the beginnings of the hugely popular online craft store Etsy; the Ice Bucket Challenge, which raised millions for a little-known disease. There are numerous examples that exist outside of this book. Off the top of my head: the Gambia elections; the number of people who have had their healthcare paid via fundraising sites; #MeToo.
New power utilises simple, sparse graphics to make its points, as well as text. In explaining, for instance, the difference between old power models and values, and new power models and values, the two create a four-quartered chart. The Guardian (and, presumably, the Observer) is one of the examples given here. It is an old-power institution but has taken on new-power values such as transparency and membership. Timms and Heimans call entities that mix old-power models with new-power values “cheerleaders”. “Castles” are old-power companies with old-power values, Apple being one, even though it likes to pretend otherwise. (If you’ve ever been on the end of Apple’s extremely poor access and hierarchies, as I have when reporting tech, this will be clear.) “Co-opters”, those who use new-power models but with old-power values, are as disparate as Islamic State and Facebook. And finally, there are “crowds”: the new-power models with new-power values. Think Airbnb, Wikipedia, the aforementioned #BlackLivesMatter. There is also something called the Ikea effect: people value things more that they have built themselves – 66% of millennials want to start their own businesses.
The book is keen to popularise neologisms, but a handy glossary summarises the circle test, camels, a full-stack society and WeWashing (not sure that one will catch on).
Though it is obvious which side Timms and Heimans are on, they are also happy to point out when new-power models can falter, or where old-power institutions maintain operational advantages. They are not, in other words, tribal, but are clear and expert on the direction of travel. They are also sure that, sometimes, “blend power” is most effective – of the best examples of which is Trump’s presidential campaign: the old-power pseudo autocrat with new-power grassroots support.
Reaction to Timms and Heimans’s book has spoken to its reach. It has been warmly received by David Brooks, reactionary columnist for the New York Times, who called it a “window to a whole new world” – and, quite frankly, Brooks has not shown any evidence of engaging with this new world before. It has also been hailed by those it features. It is the detail in this book that really excites – it notes, for example, that Heimans’ GetUp! relentlessly tested page-loading times for its site, which can make all the difference to the user’s engagement – its optimism and practical advice. And, unexpectedly, it is funny. This on Snapchat’s founder, Evan Spiegel: “You know what happened next. The company goes public at a $24bn valuation. Spiegel marries a supermodel.” I’d encourage you to participate in purchasing.
• New Power: How It’s Changing the 21st Century – and Why You Need to Know by Henry Timms and Jeremy Heimans is published by Macmillan (£20). To order a copy for £17 go to guardianbookshop.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99
