MarketWatch

Power nowadays lives and dies on the strength of one deceptively powerful tool: the hashtag symbol.

Put another way, he who controls the hashtag controls the conversation. This distribution of power is a central theme of the recently published “New Power: How Power Works in Our Hyperconnected World — and How to Make It Work for You.”

Accordingly, the rise of new power and its future is particularly important for stock investors. Savvy companies pay close attention to social media as more than a way to push products. They register the raw power of online discontent, for example the #MeToo and #NeverAgain movements, and respond in proactive ways that reflect good corporate citizenship and, not incidentally, aim to retain brand loyalty.

Heimans and Timms spoke with MarketWatch by telephone recently about new power and its influence on government, corporate governance, social activism and public opinion.

Read the interview