8 ms·

I feel like in the future there will be a few mega corps that will provide everything you need in your life through a subscription model. Any small players can'

I feel like in the future there will be a few mega corps that will provide everything you need in your life through a subscription model. Any small players can't enter the market since they don't have neither the money nor the user base to gain any significant traction and if they somehow managed to get traction they'd be squeezed out of the existence (or purchased and then put out of competition) by the mega corps. Next you'll be tagged with a microchip and every action you do, every item you purchase, every location you visit will be tracked and used to push you more "specialized" and individualized content and adverts from the said mega corps. Regarding the books, since the amazon book store is only selling books that people read and if there are nothing but amazon book stores, people can only buy (and read) the books that they sell, which means that a book that they don't sell can't be read, which means it won't be sold and thus cannot be read etc. These days I'm buying as much as I can from places other than Amazon.

Nition 9y ago
Might not even make that much difference if they still technically sold every book and product there is, since if your whole life was targeted to you you'd be funnelled more and more into your own personalised bubble anyway.
keerthiko 9y ago
The internet (if it doesn't get choked out) will continue to provide an avenue for content beyond what the megacorps create. I think what will happen is a version of what you suggest where essentially megacorps will take care of the broad human needs, but the niches will remain open playgrounds. Until they become mainstream too, opening up new niches.
golergka 9y ago
> These days I'm buying as much as I can from places other than Amazon. Why? Most of the things you described sound like a much welcome improvement over the stuff we have to deal with now.
clort 9y ago
Don't forget the flip side of that, when there are very few mega-corps who provide everything, then everybody [who works] works for them. I've read science fiction where this was culturally significant, since you are part of a tribe which has a long and perfect memory. If you got a bad report from your manager one time, then it can affect you in subtle ways for the rest of your life. If your [favoured] co-worker behaves like a dick to you and you react badly and you get dismissed[0], then this can essentially destroy your life since you won't work under that mega-corp again and perhaps the others won't be that keen on taking you on either. This is a future scenario which is a bit extreme but we can see the indications of it already. [0] I have personal experience of this from 20+ years ago, and though I'm long since moved on there are companies I remain unwelcome at though I've never worked there. Years afterwards it could have affected me badly except that the HR at the place which asked for a work-history reference and were told nonsense actually dealt with it in an adult manner and were ok with my explanation.
- noir_lord 9y ago
  That sounds a lot like the Japanese salary worker situation .
  - 0xfaded 9y ago
    Sounds even more like the Japanese Zaibatsu.
bko 9y ago
Amazon has more selection with lower cost of entry for small players. With a near-infinite capacity of inventory, Amazon does not sell only books that people read. Given the low cost of Amazon to host your book for sale, the odds of someone without significant traction getting "squeezed out" is much lower than a physical book store, where real-estate is much more valuable. Self-publishing is much easier and cheaper than the alternative. Amazon made available practically every book in print to its customers, but some continue to fetishize this non-existent egalitarian book store ideal.
cantremember22 9y ago
Commerce is slowly zooming out - the next step will be less like a mega corp and more like a mega delivery network. Look at the way information has evolved - first through local gazettes and slowly consolidating into international publishers and newspapers. Then the internet came and blew things up with a new protocol, as we all know. The creation and delivery of physical products looks like it's going down a similar path. Amazon will be almost like an API for physical products. (Developers in the house, forgive me if my metaphor is off.) Create stuff, send it it to the API and then wait for customers to ping the API for your products. It will be an automated network of bots that pick up your products, store it (with refrigeration if need be) and then deliver it to any point around the world. The way information packets flow around the internet - this will be the way physical products flow around the world. 100% automated, end-to-end, fully democratizing product creation. AI will determine which warehouses get the most of your products but every producer in the world will have access to the best logistics network in the world. Think of how many companies have a moat based on distribution. The promise of eCommerce will finally be fulfilled - and all of this because of driverless car tech and automated warehouses.
- noobiemcfoob 9y ago
  I like this dream. The only fear is in Amazon's monopoly. The Internet fits your metaphor but was designed so anyone could sign on and play. This delivery network would present far more obstacles even if it were designed for easy onboarding and expansion.
hbosch 9y ago
Why stop there? Mega-corps will eventually supersede governments. When Amazon, Google, and Apple all have 10.000.000 employees, then "Waymo v. Uber" isn't just law it's a wartime skirmish! Employment will be more valuable than citizenship. Would make a nice dystopia.
- throwanem 9y ago
  Wouldn't it just! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Government https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Government (I considered linking to its Amazon listing, but that seemed like it would've been a little too on the nose.)
  - splintercell 9y ago
    I love that book, it made me realize that it's possible to build a capitalist society without government (which is technically completely against the intention of the author who wanted it to be a 1984 style commentary on Capitalism).
    - throwanem 9y ago
      It's possible to build a government society without capitalism, too. One wonders whether there's a point to be drawn, not about one system versus the other, but about the potential for mishap inherent in putting too much weight on any one thing.
    - kesselvon 9y ago
      I mean sure, but I don't know why you'd want to.
- cholantesh 9y ago
  It was the exact plot of the movie Robocop. There was also a bit of Aliens in the mix.
- amelius 9y ago
  Interesting, but what would happen if companies start to print their own money?
vermontdevil 9y ago
You have a microchip that tracks everything you do. It's called a smartphone.
eddiecalzone 9y ago
Microchip tagging was parodied well in Idiocracy.

Nition 9y ago

Might not even make that much difference if they still technically sold every book and product there is, since if your whole life was targeted to you you'd be funnelled more and more into your own personalised bubble anyway.

keerthiko 9y ago

The internet (if it doesn't get choked out) will continue to provide an avenue for content beyond what the megacorps create. I think what will happen is a version of what you suggest where essentially megacorps will take care of the broad human needs, but the niches will remain open playgrounds. Until they become mainstream too, opening up new niches.

golergka 9y ago

> These days I'm buying as much as I can from places other than Amazon. Why? Most of the things you described sound like a much welcome improvement over the stuff we have to deal with now.

clort 9y ago

Don't forget the flip side of that, when there are very few mega-corps who provide everything, then everybody [who works] works for them. I've read science fiction where this was culturally significant, since you are part of a tribe which has a long and perfect memory. If you got a bad report from your manager one time, then it can affect you in subtle ways for the rest of your life. If your [favoured] co-worker behaves like a dick to you and you react badly and you get dismissed[0], then this can essentially destroy your life since you won't work under that mega-corp again and perhaps the others won't be that keen on taking you on either. This is a future scenario which is a bit extreme but we can see the indications of it already. [0] I have personal experience of this from 20+ years ago, and though I'm long since moved on there are companies I remain unwelcome at though I've never worked there. Years afterwards it could have affected me badly except that the HR at the place which asked for a work-history reference and were told nonsense actually dealt with it in an adult manner and were ok with my explanation.

noir_lord 9y ago
That sounds a lot like the Japanese salary worker situation .
- 0xfaded 9y ago
  Sounds even more like the Japanese Zaibatsu.

bko 9y ago

Amazon has more selection with lower cost of entry for small players. With a near-infinite capacity of inventory, Amazon does not sell only books that people read. Given the low cost of Amazon to host your book for sale, the odds of someone without significant traction getting "squeezed out" is much lower than a physical book store, where real-estate is much more valuable. Self-publishing is much easier and cheaper than the alternative. Amazon made available practically every book in print to its customers, but some continue to fetishize this non-existent egalitarian book store ideal.

cantremember22 9y ago

Commerce is slowly zooming out - the next step will be less like a mega corp and more like a mega delivery network. Look at the way information has evolved - first through local gazettes and slowly consolidating into international publishers and newspapers. Then the internet came and blew things up with a new protocol, as we all know. The creation and delivery of physical products looks like it's going down a similar path. Amazon will be almost like an API for physical products. (Developers in the house, forgive me if my metaphor is off.) Create stuff, send it it to the API and then wait for customers to ping the API for your products. It will be an automated network of bots that pick up your products, store it (with refrigeration if need be) and then deliver it to any point around the world. The way information packets flow around the internet - this will be the way physical products flow around the world. 100% automated, end-to-end, fully democratizing product creation. AI will determine which warehouses get the most of your products but every producer in the world will have access to the best logistics network in the world. Think of how many companies have a moat based on distribution. The promise of eCommerce will finally be fulfilled - and all of this because of driverless car tech and automated warehouses.

noobiemcfoob 9y ago
I like this dream. The only fear is in Amazon's monopoly. The Internet fits your metaphor but was designed so anyone could sign on and play. This delivery network would present far more obstacles even if it were designed for easy onboarding and expansion.

hbosch 9y ago

Why stop there? Mega-corps will eventually supersede governments. When Amazon, Google, and Apple all have 10.000.000 employees, then "Waymo v. Uber" isn't just law it's a wartime skirmish! Employment will be more valuable than citizenship. Would make a nice dystopia.

throwanem 9y ago
Wouldn't it just! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Government https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Government (I considered linking to its Amazon listing, but that seemed like it would've been a little too on the nose.)
- splintercell 9y ago
  I love that book, it made me realize that it's possible to build a capitalist society without government (which is technically completely against the intention of the author who wanted it to be a 1984 style commentary on Capitalism).
  - throwanem 9y ago
    It's possible to build a government society without capitalism, too. One wonders whether there's a point to be drawn, not about one system versus the other, but about the potential for mishap inherent in putting too much weight on any one thing.
  - kesselvon 9y ago
    I mean sure, but I don't know why you'd want to.
cholantesh 9y ago
It was the exact plot of the movie Robocop. There was also a bit of Aliens in the mix.
amelius 9y ago
Interesting, but what would happen if companies start to print their own money?

vermontdevil 9y ago

You have a microchip that tracks everything you do. It's called a smartphone.

eddiecalzone 9y ago

Microchip tagging was parodied well in Idiocracy.