Teens for World Domination. Why do we really need a mission statement? World Domination is a relatively easy concept to comprehend, correct? Well, actually, it's fairly complex; where this group is concerned, anyway.

We are not talking Fourth Reich here. Not the glorious armies of Napoleon sweeping across the globe. Nowhere have we said anything about domination through direct force. Though this may be implied by the title, it is simply not so. TFWD is an organization based on a new kind of power. This new power is the Internet.

Instead of harking back to Alexander the Great, think of Orson Scott Card and his Ender's Game series. In fact, take a look at Shadow of the Hegemon especially. Two teens face off in a battle to control the world. Sure, Achilles has armies under his control, but Peter Wiggin has only two things: his connection to the 'nets and his prestige as a speaker. In the end, he becomes Hegemon over the entire Earth.

Yes, we realize this is fiction. It has almost no basis in real life; it's a good fantasy tale, probably nothing more.

Yet, perhaps, there is a grain of truth to this. With the growing power of the Internet, who could tell what new power those with the right connections are capable of wielding? There will always be people with the inside ear on government, business, and politics.

TFWD is mainly a staging area for ideas. At the moment, all we can do is indirectly effect anything-perhaps, posting a popular essay that contains an idea that eventually makes it to a Congressman. However, what happens when the Internet turns into your new TV and we're the ones broadcasting? Suppose we're the ones who end up feeding you your news, the ones who spread information across the planet? Someday, perhaps TFWD could snowball-reaching into households all over the globe.

Until then, TFWD and the TFWD Newsletter serve two purposes. The first and most important: have fun. Get to discuss with some of the most intelligent and educated young adults on the planet. Publish fiction, graphics, and practically anything else for general consumption. The second purpose is to improve things. Get ideas out there to be used by those with the power to do it. Eventually, we might even snowball and gain enough power to make the right decisions, with enough information to do it with. Shoot, we're a bunch of intelligent, up and coming teens-what can't we do?

The world will eventually be in our hands no matter what; it's the natural cycle of life. The only question is, will we be ready for it, or not? TFWD says we will be.

-Matt Green
Founder, TFWD Administrator in Chief
Editor of the TFWD Newsletter