May as well give some thoughts on this: > 1/ The emergence of the big four web/mobile monopolies; Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook I'm not sure you could c

May as well give some thoughts on this: > 1/ The emergence of the big four web/mobile monopolies; Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook I'm not sure you could class Apple alongside some of the others for monopoly power either. They're still less popular than Microsoft for desktop operating systems, Google for mobile ones and virtually every other major service in their other areas of business. Apple is a very profitable business, but they're arguably more of a luxury goods maker than a monopoly right now, especially outside of tech circles. > 2/ The massive experiment in using capital as a moat to build startups into sustainable businesses has now played out and we can call it a failure for the most part. This is an interesting point, and I definitely wonder how it'll affect the tech industry in future. > 4/ Subscriptions became the second scaled business model for web and mobile businesses, following advertising which emerged at scale in the previous decade. Have they? They've done really well in some markets, but also done really poorly in others. People are definitely interested in them for music, films, TV, etc, and people + companies are interested in for them for certain products and services, but there are still many areas where they haven't done nearly as well as expected. For instance, subscriptions still haven't worked in the media industry for news/journalism, as much as certain publications are hoping they would. They also haven't done too hot in the games industry either, if Google Stadia's performance is to be believed. Jury's still out for YouTube/Twitch creators too, with Patreon type services being the de facto monetisation method right now. Free with ads has usually beat out subscriptions when in competition with it. > 7/ Technology inserted itself right in the middle of society this decade. It sure did, though it's more like people took notice this decade, since the political tides went one way rather than the other. > And the stagnation of earning power in the lower and middle class is absolutely the result of technology automation, a trend that will only accelerate in coming years. It's effects on politics will accelerate too, as shown by this decade's move towards more extreme political parties and policies worldwide. This might not end well, especially with environmental issues caused by global warming/climate change at the same time.