The new source of power is not money in the hands of a few, but information in the hands of many.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes that information, rather than financial power, is what truly empowers individuals in society.
John Naisbitt's quote highlights a fundamental shift in the dynamics of power from a concentrated monetary influence to the widespread accessibility of information. In today's world, the ability to access and utilize information can empower the masses, making it a more democratic force than wealth alone. This perspective urges us to recognize the value of knowledge and information in driving innovation, societal change, and individual potential.
In practice
In a discussion about social media's role in modern activism.
If you have to be right, you put yourself in a hedged lane, but once you experience the power of not having to be right, you will feel like you are walking across open fields, the perspective wide and your feet free to take any turn.
Intuition becomes increasingly valuable in the new information society precisely because there is so much data.
The most important skill to acquire now is learning how to learn.
Strategic planning is worthless - unless there is first a strategic vision.
Trends, like horses, are easier to ride in the direction they are going.
The most reliable way to forecast the future is to try to understand the present.
Amateur production, the result of all this new capability, means that the category of βconsumerβ is now a temporary behavior rather than a permanent identity
There's a danger in the internet and social media. The notion that information is enough, that more and more information is enough, that you don't have to think, you just have to get more information - gets very dangerous.
A breakthrough in machine learning would be worth ten Microsofts.
Businesses and users are going to use technology only if they can trust it.
We often hear people talk about the concept of 'uberization,' where a new technology completely turns an industry on its head and forces us to rethink the way things have always been done. No industry will remain untouched by these forces.
Not only have computers changed the way we think, they've also discovered what makes humans think - or think we're thinking. At least enough to predict and even influence it.
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