Influence makes you think what you think and do as you do. You use it to change the thoughts and behaviours of others – just as others use it to change yours. We have been perfecting our influence for millions of years, but in the last 20 years digital technologies have revolutionised how influence works. We are now connected to old school friends and niche interest groups – but unwittingly also to organised criminals, terrorists and hostile states who infiltrate our societies. The course of history is being shaped: elections have been hijacked, lies spread about pandemics and the rapidly heating climate, and information has become as important as bullets and bombs to winning wars. More than ever, influence has become the crucial currency for commercial and political gain: If you don’t understand it, you will likely become its victim.

Written by Social Machines’ Managing Director, Justin Hempson-Jones, Influence is a groundbreaking guide to the chaotic and murky world we live in. Available on on amazon, in Waterstones and all good bookstores.