Share This! How You Will Change the World with Social Networking

Deanna Zandt, Berrett-Koehler 2010


But serious change will not happen on its own. Despite the increasing presence of a diversity of voices and faces, the Internet isn’t fulfilling its disruptive potential; more often than not, it’s simply replicating and amplifying inequality and segregation. The good news? The fundamental building block common to every social movement is the power of the narrative. Your story… and your willingness to share others’ stories with your networks… can mean the difference between progressive change and perpetuating the status quo. We need you here, building and mapping your relationships, sharing your experience and creating pipelines of empathy and trust that will change the world.

This book is a blueprint for understanding why and how this medium of exchange works, and how our personal stories and daily experiences comprise a profoundly political picture that leads to social action and social change. Through a fun and accessible exploration of the intersection of philosophy, psychology, sociology and technology, it looks at how an historical convergence of forces has constructed a platform of immense possibility. Finally, the book offers concrete strategies and advice for both individuals and organizations looking to engage in this digital extension of our humanity. It shows, quite simply, how YOU will change the world.

Amazon Powell’s Barnes & Noble * Digital and paperback versions at each site. Also available on Indiebound.

“When Deanna Zandt writes that sharing is daring, she expresses the logic of the age, where a shift from hoarding to sharing can provide incredible social leverage. Think of ‘Share This’ as a manifesto for social engagement, and as a manual for positive change.”

Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody and Cognitive Surplus; faculty member, ITP at NYU