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There's no such thing as "Too Big To Fail" on the internet. There was a period of time during the earlier days when infrastructure was centralized but those day

There's no such thing as "Too Big To Fail" on the internet. There was a period of time during the earlier days when infrastructure was centralized but those days are behind us I've read, and if one major backbone provider were to fail the system could adapt. SaaS providers like Google and Facebook don't matter at all. Their importance has been exaggerated to epic proportions. If Google/Alphabet were to fail tomorrow the Internet would barely notice outside of social conversation. It'd be a curiosity, but the system would adapt. "Some People" might be without E-mail for a few hours, and a lot of E-mail providers would see surges in sales. We can help encourage the survivability by teaching new users of alternatives for search, blogging, following friends and so on.

electricEmu 9y ago
I didn't think banks could be too big to fail. Where exactly would handle, say, just the email? American legislatures would pass their first bipartisan business legislation by the day's end. You can teach all you want to, but the PHB's with the money and power will overrule any moral high ground you're sitting on.
- originalsimba 9y ago
  "Where exactly would handle, say, just the email?" Don't take personal offense, the idea that you need some corporation to handle your E-mail is an ignorance, one that's reinforced by those very corporations' marketing departments. I've been operating my own E-mail servers for two different domains for pennies per day for years now. It's cheap, it's (relatively) easy, and it's _better_ when you control it yourself. If Gmail were to fail, it would be one of the best things to happen to the world economy.
woodandsteel 9y ago
>There's no such thing as "Too Big To Fail" on the internet. The article doesn't say that Google et al are too big to fail. It says they have entirely too much power over internet user's experience and are misusing it in many ways. >We can help encourage the survivability by teaching new users of alternatives for search, blogging, following friends and so on. Really? So you and some other people will somehow contact the millions of new users that come online each year and persuade them to stay from Facebook?
- originalsimba 9y ago
  "Really? So you and some other people" Are you unwilling to participate? "will somehow contact the millions of new users that come online each year and persuade them to" That's literally how the internet exploded, why can't the same process work for improving people's ability to use it to serve their best interests. The process is helped along by certain public organizations like the EFF or celebrities like R. Stallman encouraging people to move away from corporate controls. The greatest feature of the internet is decentralization. Facebook and Google aren't going to change that, even tho every corporation would like to. As long as we don't fall asleep at the wheel as users.
olleromam91 9y ago
A large part of the internet economy operates on the assumptions that services like AWS and Google and Facebook remain available. Businesses are built on top of these services, and it's not clear that other SaaS providers could fill the gaps, were the big guns to fail. Tens of thousands of businesses would lose their primary source of income (google ads). Tens of thousands of businesses would lose their workplace services (G Suite). Analytics systems that are running 24/7 for multibillion dollar corporations would shut down. Who has the capability to fill that void? Millions of creators would lose their platform (Youtube) You can definitely claim that "Too Big To Fail" is not a true concept, but the significance of the failure is not to be taken lightly.
- originalsimba 9y ago
  businesses fail all the time. The market adapts, what makes the internet any different? Advertising is dead, so if your revenue is 100% ad based start looking for new models before it dries up.
  - stryk 9y ago
    Advertising is dead? Come on "<x> is dead" gets said all the time about a wide range of subjects and is almost universally bullshit. If advertising is dead why are companies still shelling out millions for 30 second TV spots during the super bowl? How are some kids are paying off their student loans by making YouTube videos? I agree that a revenue model that's based on advertising needs to be thought long and hard about, but 'dead' -- nah. I doubt that advertising will ever truly die, unfortunately they've figured out how to hack human brains and emotions with it.
    - originalsimba 9y ago
      "If advertising is dead why are companies still shelling out millions" Think of it like a sponge, the water the sponge soaked up is money. Those companies are trying to wring out the last drops of water. Some people think the water will go on forever but those people are short-sighted and often greedy, at least in my limited experience. I've been saying advertising is dead for a couple years now, and my prediction is usually met with hostility. My observation is based on the business trends of newspapers. What used to be a solid marketplace is now one of the most difficult to survive in, because the only model that really works is subscription and nobody wants to subscribe when the news can be found for free elsewhere. The last year or two showed us desparation tactics like using Javascript tricks to yell at consumers for having ad-blockers installed. Business psychology experts have confirmed this is a terribly stupid approach to customer service, and I think it's safe to say if those site operators were not desparate for revenue they never would have gone that route. We can also conclude that Ad blockers aren't going away. They're getting smarter and more commonplace. The ability to filter out the data we receive from outside sources is one of the most powerful things that technology allows us. People hate ads. I forget who said that, but they pointed to the success of technologies like Tivo, and I would also say look at how pirated television is very popular, one common trait about pirated TV is the ads are removed. The conclusion is obvious, if you're paying attention. Advertising is dead. That is not to say you can't make a few bucks from it still, but it's an advance warning to start thinking about other revenue models. Businesses will always need to advertise, but The New Market Order will see free advertising opportunities replacing paid advertising. Why should a business owner waste money on ads that nobody will see and thanks to ad-hostile plugins like Ad Nauseum, analytics can't accurately report results for, when they can get better results from social media engagement which costs nothing? I apologize for not citing my sources but I don't have the time to spend looking up things I've read for the past several years.

electricEmu 9y ago

I didn't think banks could be too big to fail. Where exactly would handle, say, just the email? American legislatures would pass their first bipartisan business legislation by the day's end. You can teach all you want to, but the PHB's with the money and power will overrule any moral high ground you're sitting on.

originalsimba 9y ago
"Where exactly would handle, say, just the email?" Don't take personal offense, the idea that you need some corporation to handle your E-mail is an ignorance, one that's reinforced by those very corporations' marketing departments. I've been operating my own E-mail servers for two different domains for pennies per day for years now. It's cheap, it's (relatively) easy, and it's _better_ when you control it yourself. If Gmail were to fail, it would be one of the best things to happen to the world economy.

woodandsteel 9y ago

>There's no such thing as "Too Big To Fail" on the internet. The article doesn't say that Google et al are too big to fail. It says they have entirely too much power over internet user's experience and are misusing it in many ways. >We can help encourage the survivability by teaching new users of alternatives for search, blogging, following friends and so on. Really? So you and some other people will somehow contact the millions of new users that come online each year and persuade them to stay from Facebook?

originalsimba 9y ago
"Really? So you and some other people" Are you unwilling to participate? "will somehow contact the millions of new users that come online each year and persuade them to" That's literally how the internet exploded, why can't the same process work for improving people's ability to use it to serve their best interests. The process is helped along by certain public organizations like the EFF or celebrities like R. Stallman encouraging people to move away from corporate controls. The greatest feature of the internet is decentralization. Facebook and Google aren't going to change that, even tho every corporation would like to. As long as we don't fall asleep at the wheel as users.

olleromam91 9y ago

A large part of the internet economy operates on the assumptions that services like AWS and Google and Facebook remain available. Businesses are built on top of these services, and it's not clear that other SaaS providers could fill the gaps, were the big guns to fail. Tens of thousands of businesses would lose their primary source of income (google ads). Tens of thousands of businesses would lose their workplace services (G Suite). Analytics systems that are running 24/7 for multibillion dollar corporations would shut down. Who has the capability to fill that void? Millions of creators would lose their platform (Youtube) You can definitely claim that "Too Big To Fail" is not a true concept, but the significance of the failure is not to be taken lightly.

originalsimba 9y ago
businesses fail all the time. The market adapts, what makes the internet any different? Advertising is dead, so if your revenue is 100% ad based start looking for new models before it dries up.
- stryk 9y ago
  Advertising is dead? Come on "<x> is dead" gets said all the time about a wide range of subjects and is almost universally bullshit. If advertising is dead why are companies still shelling out millions for 30 second TV spots during the super bowl? How are some kids are paying off their student loans by making YouTube videos? I agree that a revenue model that's based on advertising needs to be thought long and hard about, but 'dead' -- nah. I doubt that advertising will ever truly die, unfortunately they've figured out how to hack human brains and emotions with it.
  - originalsimba 9y ago
    "If advertising is dead why are companies still shelling out millions" Think of it like a sponge, the water the sponge soaked up is money. Those companies are trying to wring out the last drops of water. Some people think the water will go on forever but those people are short-sighted and often greedy, at least in my limited experience. I've been saying advertising is dead for a couple years now, and my prediction is usually met with hostility. My observation is based on the business trends of newspapers. What used to be a solid marketplace is now one of the most difficult to survive in, because the only model that really works is subscription and nobody wants to subscribe when the news can be found for free elsewhere. The last year or two showed us desparation tactics like using Javascript tricks to yell at consumers for having ad-blockers installed. Business psychology experts have confirmed this is a terribly stupid approach to customer service, and I think it's safe to say if those site operators were not desparate for revenue they never would have gone that route. We can also conclude that Ad blockers aren't going away. They're getting smarter and more commonplace. The ability to filter out the data we receive from outside sources is one of the most powerful things that technology allows us. People hate ads. I forget who said that, but they pointed to the success of technologies like Tivo, and I would also say look at how pirated television is very popular, one common trait about pirated TV is the ads are removed. The conclusion is obvious, if you're paying attention. Advertising is dead. That is not to say you can't make a few bucks from it still, but it's an advance warning to start thinking about other revenue models. Businesses will always need to advertise, but The New Market Order will see free advertising opportunities replacing paid advertising. Why should a business owner waste money on ads that nobody will see and thanks to ad-hostile plugins like Ad Nauseum, analytics can't accurately report results for, when they can get better results from social media engagement which costs nothing? I apologize for not citing my sources but I don't have the time to spend looking up things I've read for the past several years.