Jew World Order

Social media and technology are mere catalysts in a global revolution that’s altering the very nature of power in our civilization. This movement is mixing the top-down “old power” with a sideways-flowing “new power,” according to the 92Y’s deputy executive director, Henry Timms.

Timms believes social media is accelerating a people-driven revolution that’s transforming everything from political arrangements to business models, organizations to philosophies.

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“Old power is download power that served the few,” said Timms to the Mashable Connect audience in Orlando, Fla. It’s a theory in “beta version,” he said. “It flows vertically, it is coveted and it sees power as a currency.”

However, social media represents the rise of the “new power,” a more egalitarian and communal approach to power. In the new power structure, it’s uploaders and content creators that hold all the cards. A key difference between the two power structures, however, is that there are more cards held by more players.

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“‘New power’ is upload power,” said Timms. “It serves the many, it flows sideways, it shares and it sees the power as a current.”

Timms believes that “new power” won’t ultimately replace “old power,” but the two will coalesce into a new power structure altogether — the exact likes of which are still unknown.

The “new power,” Timms said, lies in the hands of those who embrace the sharing-friendly rise of social media and the changes which it’s bringing. On the contrary, those politicians and corporations that use social media as little more than a medium to express the same top-down power as in years past will find control slips through their grasp as the power structure rapidly changes.

“Think about the organizations and people you see as making the most progress,” he added. “I would bet you will see new power thinking and new power thinkers at work. Now think about those that are most stalled. I would bet that it is old power thinking holding them up.”

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However, Timms believes that already powerful entities can stay that way — if they adapt. The key to becoming successful in the “new power” structure, he said, is a commitment to the lessons of the past and a realization of the potential of new power, a move which requires listening to the global conversation and letting go of the reins a bit.

“The future will belong to the bilingual — those who are comfortable with the past and can master the future,” said Timms.

Timms also took issue with others who are thinking and writing about social media, the changing power dynamic and the future of civilization.

Too many commentators, he believes, see the future as a mere “upgrade of the past” — the same routine with new technology. It’s a notion that’s becoming increasing common as the power-holders of yesterday, such as politicians and corporations, increasingly turn to social media as a means to stay relevant.

“We watch entire fields and sectors turning on their heads, altering essentially from what they had been,” said Timms. And how do we talk about this? We simply tack on the suffix “2.0:” Journalism 2.0, Government 2.0, Philanthropy 2.0. We describe the future as no more than a simple upgrade of the past.”

Timms rejects that notion, instead believing that the the rise of social media and “new power” represents a drastic change in the very fabric of our society. Technology didn’t bring about these movements, Timms believes, it merely helped like-minded people find one another and take action.

As an example, Timms pointed to movements such as the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street, which he believes were “not so much a ‘Twitter revolution’ or a ‘Facebook revolution’ as a ‘new power’ revolution.” While they used technology to organize, they were in actuality reflecting people’s desire for fairness and a change in the power distribution.

“This was a change in mindsets more than handsets,” added Timms. “Catalyzed by new media but driven by new expectations about power.”

What role, if any, do you think social media is playing in a revolution in the global power structure? Tell us in the comments below.

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This story originally published on Mashable here.