5 ms·

Also to further your point into existential territory. I remember hearing Elizabeth Warren saying her plan was to break up BigTechCo's and thinking to myself ab

Also to further your point into existential territory. I remember hearing Elizabeth Warren saying her plan was to break up BigTechCo's and thinking to myself about how ridiculous it is and how she's totally pointing her guns in the wrong direction. But after these events and some reflection; it's true. These companies are clearly only accountable to themselves leaving everyone else to go f* themselves. Consumers may win in the short term with the low prices that commerce conglomerate Amazon can offer, but I think the long run; retail death will only further widen income gaps and continue to tear our country's social fibers further apart. I feel like I did everything I could to be on the correct side of this economic gamble; having worked for a few BigTechCo's; studying, training hard, teaching myself to code. But still, they don't even treat me right. It's like they're accountable to no one. They are more and moreso becoming public enemy #1 and I feel like that's a position for which they are totally deserving.

beggingforbread 8y ago
"I held a reasonable opinion until my bias got involved"
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
  How can someone hold an opinion that goes against their own bias in the first place?
rjmunro 8y ago
I can't see how breaking up Amazon helps this kind of thing. Sure you could break of AWS, you could separate fulfilment stuff from the main marketplace and have Amazon itself just another marketplace seller, you could insist they use 3rd party courier companies, not start their own etc. But fundamentally there is still a website that has listings and someone has to patrol it for quality / spam. Those people will have to use algorithms, and they will make mistakes. Don't get me wrong. Breaking up Amazon is a good idea, and should happen, but it's unlikely to help here.
- logifail 8y ago
  > I can't see how breaking up Amazon helps this kind of thing Read up on the break-up of Standard Oil.[0] If we took that approach with a tech giant, we'd end up with lots of smaller independent companies which compete with each other in their markets, not companies which each (still!) completely dominate one particular market segment. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil#Breakup https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil#Breakup
  - Nasrudith 8y ago
    That doesn't seem like it would work in this context. Whichever retains the Amazon domain name (or if somehow forfeited the most memorable/closest) would retain the lion's share for the one stop shop. Barnes and Noble is still around but that market seems fairly winner takes all. MmThe break en up mantra seems demagogic pandering as opposed to a real solution- especially when actual abusive and far more dominant, abusive, and all consuming monopolies walk by in the background whistling.
- 8ytecoder 8y ago
  She wasn't talking about breaking up Amazon randomly. Whether I agree with her or not, it was a well thought out position. You must read that before passing judgment. Basically, her point was that Amazon as a seller and Amazon as a marketplace must be two different entities that cannot and should not coordinate with each other. This makes a third-party seller on the marketplace at an equal footing with AmazonBasics. The marketplace stays neutral and is not subsidizing the Amazon seller and thereby putting other sellers at a huge disadvantage. Where I disagree with her is that this is the exact same practice that every major supermarket brand does.
deleted 8y ago
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beggingforbread 8y ago

"I held a reasonable opinion until my bias got involved"

SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
How can someone hold an opinion that goes against their own bias in the first place?

rjmunro 8y ago

I can't see how breaking up Amazon helps this kind of thing. Sure you could break of AWS, you could separate fulfilment stuff from the main marketplace and have Amazon itself just another marketplace seller, you could insist they use 3rd party courier companies, not start their own etc. But fundamentally there is still a website that has listings and someone has to patrol it for quality / spam. Those people will have to use algorithms, and they will make mistakes. Don't get me wrong. Breaking up Amazon is a good idea, and should happen, but it's unlikely to help here.

logifail 8y ago
> I can't see how breaking up Amazon helps this kind of thing Read up on the break-up of Standard Oil.[0] If we took that approach with a tech giant, we'd end up with lots of smaller independent companies which compete with each other in their markets, not companies which each (still!) completely dominate one particular market segment. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil#Breakup https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil#Breakup
- Nasrudith 8y ago
  That doesn't seem like it would work in this context. Whichever retains the Amazon domain name (or if somehow forfeited the most memorable/closest) would retain the lion's share for the one stop shop. Barnes and Noble is still around but that market seems fairly winner takes all. MmThe break en up mantra seems demagogic pandering as opposed to a real solution- especially when actual abusive and far more dominant, abusive, and all consuming monopolies walk by in the background whistling.
8ytecoder 8y ago
She wasn't talking about breaking up Amazon randomly. Whether I agree with her or not, it was a well thought out position. You must read that before passing judgment. Basically, her point was that Amazon as a seller and Amazon as a marketplace must be two different entities that cannot and should not coordinate with each other. This makes a third-party seller on the marketplace at an equal footing with AmazonBasics. The marketplace stays neutral and is not subsidizing the Amazon seller and thereby putting other sellers at a huge disadvantage. Where I disagree with her is that this is the exact same practice that every major supermarket brand does.

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