The ultimate power move isn't one you'll broadcast

Facebook groups have faded, users have lost trust in who they’re talking to on X, and professionals are pushing back against AI note-takers in certain contexts—and against surveillance culture in general.

Instead, conversations are moving to WhatsApp groups and Signal chats, which tout end-to-end encryption. These and other messaging services are among a new wave of privacy-centered apps emerging as the modern replacement for open social media.

Networking will continue to shift from public platforms into curated, off-grid spaces. The more elite you are, the less likely you are to engage in open groups—and the more likely you are to prefer curated, private environments.

This is the fifth of the 10 core beliefs I have for what the future of relationship and community building holds, a.k.a. my Future of Networking forecast. For those who want to catch up:

Foundational Shifts:

🔗 Trend 1: AI-Enhanced Networking
🔗 Trend 2: Agents, Avatars, and Automation
🔗 Trend 3: Professional Networks as a Measurable Asset

Behavioral and Cultural Shifts:

🔗 Trend 4: Remote by Default, In-Person by Design

🔮 My fifth prediction for the Future of Networking is privacy as a power move.

While still incredibly exclusive, the power circles of the elite are as public-facing as they’ve ever been: the World Economic Forum and Sun Valley Conference (a.k.a. “summer camp for billionaires”) are soaked in media attention. Yale’s Skull and Bones and other on-campus secret societies are breaking from tradition when it comes to who they tap as members, and from “Eyes Wide Shut” to “Succession,” the exploration of elite circles is an entertainment genre all its own.

Technology is not only rapidly eroding the shroud of secrecy cloaking the ultra-elites, but now the privacy of everyone participating in public life. On top of the ubiquity of smartphones, wearables like Ray-Ban Meta glasses are bringing an additional slew of recording devices into public and private spaces. Meanwhile, former Apple designer Jony Ive and Open AI CEO Sam Altman have teamed up to create a new kind of AI device that’s designed to be ambient, screen-free, and deeply integrated with OpenAI’s technology. It won’t be a wearable like smart glasses or headphones—instead, it’s expected to be a small, elegant object that reimagines how we interact with AI in daily life.

Though this evolution in technology may titillate Altman, Zuck, and fellow tech evangelists, I anticipate everyone from their elite associates to the every wo/man will soon grow agitated at privacy going out the window amidst this tech takeover.

The pushback on technology won’t just look like celebrities checking phones in at the front door. There will be pushback from every day people around privacy…and it’s already begun…

Allie Miller nailed it in this post:

How else do I see this retreat from public life playing out, even beyond elite circles?

👉 There’s a shift from broadcasting to bonding. Mass reach is being replaced by meaningful reach—small, high-trust circles where conversations are nuanced and unfiltered. I myself am a member of multiple private groups and communities, and the resounding sentiment is that people are exhausted of broadcasting on social media and instead prefer to lean into real life.

👉 Performative fatigue is setting in. Social media used to be where we flexed. Now the real flex is exclusivity and restraint: who you know, not what you post. I’ve personally felt this over the past few years—the busier I am, the more elite events I’m a part of, the less I post. I’ve never been a big Instagrammer, but I’ve realized when I’m with titans of industry at dinner tables… we’re definitely not taking selfies. In fact, we’re not taking photos at all. And I don’t even feel compelled to post, because I understand that privacy, respect, and elegance is what people at the top value most.

👉 Users are re-evaluating their relationship with big tech. I’ve had many friends ask to move our conversations to Signal, because they just don’t want to give their data to the big companies anymore. Our attention and our data are the most valuable things in the world right now—and additional monitoring and recording devices in daily life offer new means for companies to acquire that data. Humans need control and agency, and when they lose that, they rebel. Behavioral science shows we avoid surveillance unless trust is high—and current trust in big tech is low. And all of that is without mentioning the influence of classics like 1984 and Brave New World, which remind us that these systems can eventually be used against us when power is consolidated.

Want to avoid getting left on the wrong side of the proverbial (or actual) velvet rope? Wondering what’s appropriate when it comes to concealing your privacy?

👉 If you think you’re going to be able to sign up for elite events… you’re wrong. 😬 You’ll need to be invited. But before you can be invited, you’ll need to know the event is even happening, which means you’ll have to know the people who get invited.

👉 People are growing uneasy about how much of their lives are being captured, stored, and analyzed—often without clear consent. From apps quietly scraping your contact list to wearables recording your environment, it’s no longer paranoid to ask: Who has access to my data? And what are they doing with it?

👉 It’s time to take networking into your own hands. If people are going private, you should too. Keep following my networking advice to get into private rooms and communities, or create your own power circles! (We can help 😉)

Nicole’s Take 🎬

So, how do I think professional relationship building be affected by technology given that privacy is the new power move?

✅ Important conversations will move offline, or into encrypted channels.

✅ Deeper relationships—especially professional ones—require vulnerability and nuance, which don’t fare well under continual observation.

✅ Influence will be built through small, vetted groups—as it always has been, but using private technology.

✅ Trust will become the ultimate filter. The algorithm can’t pick who to trust—only you can.

Until next time,
Nicole

“But wait, there’s more!” 👇

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