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I generally agree with you that they are doing good things but the bigger question is what harm are they doing? We need to stop having these huge mergers. Think

I generally agree with you that they are doing good things but the bigger question is what harm are they doing? We need to stop having these huge mergers. Think what a different landscape we'd have if Facebook didn't own Instagram and WhatsApp. Those companies had a choice, fight FB with limited money or cash out. (I'm not judging them...) Look at Snap. They've said no and so FB threw all their money at duplicating all their features in all their own properties. This is the downside of the products that just throw off cash. All the money and time in the world they can devote to squashing all competition. It reminds me of the same things that happened with the banks and Comcast. Most people who have Comcast got there because Comcast bought their provider and the investors wanted to cash out, not because people voted with their dollars. The banks got too big to fail, not because everyone rushed to switch all their money to bank X but because bank X bought up all the smaller players with money bet on the bubble. I think they do need broken up but I would argue all we really need to do is "unmerge" these acquisitions and spin them back out separate. Absolute power has always corrupted absolutely. To be fair, this isn't new. Gates did a lot of the same things but now their foundation is doing wonderful things. However, it is easy to be a philanthropist with spare billions. What I would love to see from one of these founders is to attack one of the world's biggest problems personally and with the same ruthlessness they did their main companies. Musk is the only one who really seems to be "walking the walk".

mehrdada 9y ago
You lost me at "Musk is the only one who really seems to be "walking the walk"", which is inconsistent with the rest of your theory, but luckily for you that was the last sentence. :) It's clear Musk is also interested in consolidation and expansion of his empire, probably one day under X.com brand, but I guess since he is good at working on his fan base and talking about imaginary ideas, he should be treated differently than Larry Page or Jeff Bezos. When you think about it from another perspective (playing devil's advocate here for the sake of illustration), SpaceX is not about going to Mars, it's just another satellite launching business working its underpaid employees 80-hour-weeks with that line; SolarCity was just another put solar panel on your roof business you see a ton of in Costco without any clear differentiation (how about "unmerging" that too, by the way?) Heck, look at Tesla "Autopilot", nothing but a joke. If what Musk does is Good, I like to point out Larry Page's company had a self-driving car project since ages ago; they tried doing breakthrough work on life sciences, and a lot of other things. Perhaps Larry Page should have dated Hollywood actresses all-year-long to get more positive press coverage. The point is, yes, there are pros and cons. And you basically agreed to the parent post's when you brought up Musk's example.
- snarf21 9y ago
  What you say is fair, I wasn't saying Musk is 100% altruistic. I think the push for solar and electric cars are good for the planet though even if they are good for his checkbook too. I was using him as an example of someone who is actively working on the projects not simply funding others to do good work. (Incidentally, I don't think self-driving cars is something that I'd call altruistic)

mehrdada 9y ago

You lost me at "Musk is the only one who really seems to be "walking the walk"", which is inconsistent with the rest of your theory, but luckily for you that was the last sentence. :) It's clear Musk is also interested in consolidation and expansion of his empire, probably one day under X.com brand, but I guess since he is good at working on his fan base and talking about imaginary ideas, he should be treated differently than Larry Page or Jeff Bezos. When you think about it from another perspective (playing devil's advocate here for the sake of illustration), SpaceX is not about going to Mars, it's just another satellite launching business working its underpaid employees 80-hour-weeks with that line; SolarCity was just another put solar panel on your roof business you see a ton of in Costco without any clear differentiation (how about "unmerging" that too, by the way?) Heck, look at Tesla "Autopilot", nothing but a joke. If what Musk does is Good, I like to point out Larry Page's company had a self-driving car project since ages ago; they tried doing breakthrough work on life sciences, and a lot of other things. Perhaps Larry Page should have dated Hollywood actresses all-year-long to get more positive press coverage. The point is, yes, there are pros and cons. And you basically agreed to the parent post's when you brought up Musk's example.

snarf21 9y ago
What you say is fair, I wasn't saying Musk is 100% altruistic. I think the push for solar and electric cars are good for the planet though even if they are good for his checkbook too. I was using him as an example of someone who is actively working on the projects not simply funding others to do good work. (Incidentally, I don't think self-driving cars is something that I'd call altruistic)