Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. The news now --
2. Why we share --
3. OMG! I have to tell you --
4. The daily we --
5. Voices that rise above the noise --
6. A nervous system for the planet --
7. When consumers strike back --
8. Truths, lies and rumours --
9. The political power of a shared story --
10. The way ahead.

Every day more than 500 million messages are sent on Twitter, 800 million people share four billion stories, links, photographs and videos on Facebook. Every minute, 100 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube. And the flow is ever-increasing. In this new era of media saturation, what do we mean by “the news"? Is “the most trusted name in news" today a veteran anchor on television or an undergraduate tweeting from Tahrir Square in Cairo?

The day before yesterday, news and information was scarce, coming from a few newspapers or broadcasters. Now, not only are we able to connect and collaborate to create our own media, but for the first time have access to a global audience. Together we can help to bring down governments or chasten international corporations. We can hasten the spread of gossip, rumour and lies. We can market our products more widely and efficiently than ever--if we take the trouble to discover why people share and to whom.