Facebook, now implicated in the Russian interference in the 2016 US elections (as well as those of France, the Netherlands, Germany, and others) has achieved such massive power by accruing a base of monthly active users that is the plurality of the human race.
Of all grandiose statements, this is not an exaggeration in statistical or metaphorical terms. The tech company has gone from social network to geopolitical actor inside of a decade.
This chart shows its growth, but does not explain its impact. Only geopolitical analysis can do that now.
We’re sure that for the company’s executives, this is jarring. Their collective success has been so complete that they transcended the goals of any company into an entirely new and important realm in human existence. As such, its fate is of interest to the world.
The soul of foresight is understanding just what game you are in fact playing…