I am reading a book, New Power, by Henry Timms & Jeremy Heimans.

Henry Timms: is Executive Director, of 92nd Street Y, a Cultural and Community Center that creates Programs and Movements that foster Learning and Civic Engagement. He is the Co-Founder of #GivingTuesday, a Global Philanthropic Movement that engages People in close to 100 Countries. He is a Visting Fellow at Stanford University's Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society.

Jeremy Heimans: is the Co-Founder and CEO, of Purpose, a Company specializing in building Social Movements around the World. In 2005, he Co-Founded GetUp!,an Australian Political Organization with more Members then All of Australia's Political Parties Combined. He is a Co-Founder of the Global Campaigning Organization Avaaz and the LGBT Rights Platform
All Out. He is a Recipient of the Ford Foundation's 75th Anniversary Visionary Award for His Work as a Movement Pioneer. Ha has been named One of Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business.

The Circle Test: Building New Power Communities that Work, Inside and Out

Facebook is the World's most populous new Power Platform with an increasingly Dominant hold on Global Audiences. On a Micro Scale, it presents a Challenge for the Local Nonprofit or School that wants to reach Potential Students or Donors, but must Pay Facebook to Boost its Post's reach.

And it presents a Macro Challenge for Democratic Discource itself, when Facebook via its Opaque Algorithm, gets to Choose who sees What and When. It can be tempting to think of Social Media sites as merely Virtual Clubs or Cafes, and less consequential than the things that unfold in Parliaments or Battlefields. But in fact Platforms like Facebook are increasingly Shaping and Eclipsing whst happens in these Domains.

We now know that Crucial Role Facebook played in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, both as the Primary means by which Fake News and Misinformation was Distributed and Spread Sideways, and as the vechicle through which Trump Campaign Affiliates conducted highly Sophisticated Targeting Millions of People in the days before the Election, acting to Increase his Turnout and Depress his Opponents.

Mark Zuckerverg's initial Reaction to these Claims was Incredulity: Personally, I think the idea that fake news on Facebook - of which it's a small amount of content - influenced the election in any way is a pretty crazy idea.

Five months later, Facebook reversed cource and Conceded it had played a role. And the News kept dripping out. By September, it admitted it had Sold Ads to Russian-backed Operatives trying to Manipulate American Opinions. By November, we learned that these Ads reached more than 150 Million Americans.

When we think about the effect of vast New Power Models loke Facebook on the wider World, we should apply what we call the Cicle Test. The Circle Test asks us to consider the impacts of the platform, both on the Actors inside its Triangle, and on those in its wider Circle. For Facebook, this test asks some Tough Questions:

- What is its effect on the ability of traditional media to carry out their Public Interest Role?

- What is the Psychological impct of Facebook, as the Scientific Evidence mounts that the more we use it, the worsewe feel?

- Should the Public Square, as Facebook is increasingly becoming, be Privately Owned and Controlled?

It isn't just Policymakers, Academics, and Ethicists who should be thinking about applying the Circle Test. It's Us, as Participants and Super Participants. These platforms are Empty Vessels without Us, and We determine whether they Thrice or Falter.

As we choose whether or Not to Participate, we have an Obligation to consider more than whether New Power Communiities delight or make things eaiser for Us, but also whether they are Helping or Harming the World arounf Us.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker