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So the real problem isn't global corporations using lobbying power to suppress competition, it's journalists who write boring articles.

electic 10y ago
They became big because of the non-stop PR they keep getting. These companies came up in a fair level playing field in the 90s and early 2000s. The article correctly outlines that. However, it is now a self-fulfilling cycle. They get users, they get more PR, they get more users, they get more PR, they get more users. Repeat. They then use that power to also, in parallel, lobby to crush startups. The editorial coverage is part of the problem. This very journalist and others like him, share the blame.
- taneq 10y ago
  You don't think that them becoming big had something to do with, y'know, their products?
  - Clubber 10y ago
    Initially, yes, then networking effect and shrewd business practices (ensuring barriers to entry) ensure that they stay on top. I mean petroleum to power cars was a great, cheap product when it started as was the incandescent lightbulb. Coal was far more price effective than wood / steam turbines by a long shot. Yet we still use them 100+ years later. Why? Because the people that produce those technologies don't want to go out of business and they do everything their war chests will allow to make sure that won't happen.
  - rdlecler1 10y ago
    Mark Zuckerberg having dinner with some Trump supporters got more press than most startups. So no, it's not always about the product.
    - taneq 10y ago
      And that is, of course, how Facebook became a billion dollar company.
      - rdlecler1 10y ago
        The discussion was on assumhnetrical accesss to PR and the feedback loop that creates.
justicezyx 10y ago
> Frankly, these journalists are part of the problem. Translate to "So the real problem isn't global corporations" I probably will be downvoted, but you better refine your way of commenting...
- throwaway91111 10y ago
  Ehh, plenty of blame to go around. I'm happy to see both discussed here.
- PhasmaFelis 10y ago
  I believe electric's post was edited after I replied.

electic 10y ago

They became big because of the non-stop PR they keep getting. These companies came up in a fair level playing field in the 90s and early 2000s. The article correctly outlines that. However, it is now a self-fulfilling cycle. They get users, they get more PR, they get more users, they get more PR, they get more users. Repeat. They then use that power to also, in parallel, lobby to crush startups. The editorial coverage is part of the problem. This very journalist and others like him, share the blame.

taneq 10y ago
You don't think that them becoming big had something to do with, y'know, their products?
- Clubber 10y ago
  Initially, yes, then networking effect and shrewd business practices (ensuring barriers to entry) ensure that they stay on top. I mean petroleum to power cars was a great, cheap product when it started as was the incandescent lightbulb. Coal was far more price effective than wood / steam turbines by a long shot. Yet we still use them 100+ years later. Why? Because the people that produce those technologies don't want to go out of business and they do everything their war chests will allow to make sure that won't happen.
- rdlecler1 10y ago
  Mark Zuckerberg having dinner with some Trump supporters got more press than most startups. So no, it's not always about the product.
  - taneq 10y ago
    And that is, of course, how Facebook became a billion dollar company.
    - rdlecler1 10y ago
      The discussion was on assumhnetrical accesss to PR and the feedback loop that creates.

justicezyx 10y ago

> Frankly, these journalists are part of the problem. Translate to "So the real problem isn't global corporations" I probably will be downvoted, but you better refine your way of commenting...

throwaway91111 10y ago
Ehh, plenty of blame to go around. I'm happy to see both discussed here.
PhasmaFelis 10y ago
I believe electric's post was edited after I replied.