New Power: How Power Works in Our Hyperconnected World—and How to Make It Work for You

by Jeremy Heimans

But what is most notable, and important, about Black Lives Matter is its commitment to radical inclusivity. This is a movement that wants to have lots of leaders, and it is committed to shifting the spotlight onto those who had not typically been cast in that role, and who have been the most marginalized.

The three are adamant that they do not want to replicate the old power model, with a charismatic speechifying male preacher like Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson taking up all the space. This led to clashes in the early days of Black Lives Matter. Jackson found himself booed when he tried to deliver a speech to protesters in Ferguson. Sharpton was accused of trying to co-opt the movement.

A challenge for leader-full and women-led movements will be getting the old

power structure to see and engage with them for what they are, rather than trying to turn themselves into something those existing structures can recognize.

As in any broad-based movement, many factions and disagreements have emerged. But the achievement is clear. Black Lives Matter placed a much-neglected issue at the heart of the national conversation.

the combination of old and new power can be greater than the sum of the parts.

Over the

years, it had made small grants totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars to dozens of organizations in Colorado—gun clubs, shooting ranges, conservationist and hunting organizations like Ducks Unlimited, and small local gun rights organizations not formally part of the NRA.

These were investments designed to create a web of grassroots activity fusing together the politics, culture, and commerce of guns. Think of it as an independent, self-organized crowd, untethered officia...

“The benefit of pushing money downward and letting people do with it what they will is that very often they will do with it what you want.

what the NRA did so well was “getting off your own agenda for five minutes.”

By releasing control of its crowd, at the potential cost of being able to claim a win, it created the freedom that gave people true ownership of the movement.

(We’ll say it one last time: It’s only a movement if it m...

While Bloomberg brought big funding, the NRA was able to draw on what proved a more valuable currency:

intensity.

To win the Colorado recall, the NRA let its new power base do the work, and let its old power apparatus take a supporting role. But to beat the Manchin-Toomey bill—a gun control bill supported by President Obama and his allies in Washington—the

the NRA needed to flip its tactics, leading with its old power

brand and then letting the crowd show ...

The NRA’s grading system is the modern equivalent of the emperor’s thumb, pointed up for those he will save, and down for those he condemns. The halls and lobbies of Washington are full of stories of those who have crossed the NRA and paid a very high price.

not only is the NRA not one of the biggest spenders in U.S. elections, as it is widely thought to be (it ranks only about 50th among outside groups in U.S. elections), it is not even especially effective in how it invests when it does so directly.

The NRA extracts what we can think of as a return on fear, with its legend and threat looming larger than the empirical reality.

Yet that threat is made more potent and credible through the appl...

When it came time to swing those votes in Congress, the NRA also used the intens...

overwhelm the oth...

Think about this number for a moment. Polls show that more than 90 percent of U.S. citizens favor legislation like that which Manchin-Toomey proposed,

yet they were easily rolled over by the dedication and commitment of those advocating gun rights.

Being a member of the NRA isn’t just a political affiliation—it provides tangible benefits like discounts on insurance, access to personal loans, and a wine club. And it starts from childhood; the NRA’s blog carries posts like “Marksmanship Programs Your Child Will Love.”

The NRA is playing a long game. It is committed to building deep grassroots engagement and creating rewarding feedback loops that go far beyond its narrow political objectives.

“The gun control side is a political movement. They are working to change gun policy. That’s what they do.

The gun rights side, they’re changing culture, they’re operating within an industry, and they...

It is the power of gun culture that strengthens t...

The NRA has created such a powerful unifying worldview that at moments of crisis, like mass shootings, it paradoxically gets stronger. More guns are bought, its members grow more fearful of confiscation and more committed, and a

strangely virtuous cycle emerges.

And the NRA is rarely afraid to raise the stakes in its efforts to build up a unified worldview...

Bloomberg’s organization, for all its funding and public support for sensible regulations, was unable to rally a crowd around the outcome it desired.

And as long as this was “Bloomberg’s” campaign, it was hard for anyone else to own it.

The NRA, on the other hand, shows a rare capacity to be dramatically present in one moment, and to...

TED is able to offer a select few access to the very top of the market and a little something for everyone else.

This bifurcation has largely reinforced the value proposition for both sides.

Those who spea...

conference have a much more valuable experience because they know that the talks have a...

Equally, those viewing the talks on their smartphones know that they are accessing a high-end quality product because they se...

Had TED remained a purely closed shop, it is hard to imagine it would have ...

Chris Anderson’s digital play delivered TED a global audience and a nascent community.

In effect, TED offset its old power with new.

as it became a household name, its success led to an unexpected challenge.

The many new TED enthusiasts were hungry to do more than just share and add comments. They wanted to deliver their own TED Talks.

TEDx works by allowing organizers everywhere to channel their inner Chris Anderson.

Thousands of events have taken place, with over 30,000 TEDx talks delivered in 130 countries around the world.

But increased access to the brand has not meant abandoning control. Like the conference in Vancouver,