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have an ideal in mind that goes beyond that 'growth at all costs' stage in which the company could actually increase the health of its ecosystem. Ideal is righ

have an ideal in mind that goes beyond that 'growth at all costs' stage in which the company could actually increase the health of its ecosystem. Ideal is right, because that is idealistic to the point of naivete. The second a company takes its eye off the ball and starts trying to better the world, its competitors swoop in and take over. The right answer is for a society to create laws that ensure the behavior we want to see out of corporations. When that's not effective because corporations have undue influence on the legal system, then it's very clear and simple the problem you need to solve.

SuoDuanDao 6y ago
See, that looks to me like naivete about the behaviour of the regulatory apparatus. Ultimately, a civilisation runs on both rules and tools, and while we clearly have opposite biases about where the low-hanging fruit are, I think we also both know it's not really true that there are zero improvements to be made in either realm. I'd be happy to share my scepticism about attempts to reform the 'rules' side of the equation if you like, but my own interest is in tools. Some tools allow a few players to dominate a limited number of niches, others allow many players to thrive in many niches. If you're going to be a toolmaker, trying to gain dominance and then keep the environment static is actually a self-limiting strategy, Nothing in nature or history has proven able to do that. The only time one player can dominate a limited number of niches is when there are few niches to begin with. Successfully dominating a niche actually gives more opportunities to create niches adjacent to one's own. Amazon carving out a niche in e-commerce is what allows it to provide services to authors and vendors.
- solipsism 6y ago
  Wow, this is a good example of sounds-smart nonsense. Deepak Chopra style. > The only time one player can dominate a limited number of niches is when there are few niches to begin with. What?? What are you even saying? It's an entire world filled with niches. There's no sense in which niches are limited. How does it ever make sense to talk about "a limited number of niches"??
  - SuoDuanDao 6y ago
    >There's no sense in which niches are limited. If that were true, people would still be buying pet supplies from Pets.com and books from Amazon.com. The fact everyone knows what is meant by 'FAANG' should demonstrate how few actual niches exist in the digital space. Communication is difficult when worldviews are very different and you seem uninterested in meeting me halfway. I'd be happy to explore this area of dialogue further, but you'd need to agree to stop insulting me.
    - solipsism 6y ago
      If that were true, people would still be buying pet supplies from Pets.com and books from Amazon.com I don't understand. Amazon sells some very large percentage of every book sold in the world. What are you saying? The fact everyone knows what is meant by 'FAANG' should demonstrate how few actual niches exist in the digital space. What does this mean? A niche is a very specific market segment. The presence of extremely large players does not negate the presence of niches. Niches exist whether or not there companies taking advantage of them. Communication is difficult, that's why words matter. I think you should choose your words more carefully and make sure you are double-checking that the things you are saying actually make sense.

SuoDuanDao 6y ago

See, that looks to me like naivete about the behaviour of the regulatory apparatus. Ultimately, a civilisation runs on both rules and tools, and while we clearly have opposite biases about where the low-hanging fruit are, I think we also both know it's not really true that there are zero improvements to be made in either realm. I'd be happy to share my scepticism about attempts to reform the 'rules' side of the equation if you like, but my own interest is in tools. Some tools allow a few players to dominate a limited number of niches, others allow many players to thrive in many niches. If you're going to be a toolmaker, trying to gain dominance and then keep the environment static is actually a self-limiting strategy, Nothing in nature or history has proven able to do that. The only time one player can dominate a limited number of niches is when there are few niches to begin with. Successfully dominating a niche actually gives more opportunities to create niches adjacent to one's own. Amazon carving out a niche in e-commerce is what allows it to provide services to authors and vendors.

solipsism 6y ago
Wow, this is a good example of sounds-smart nonsense. Deepak Chopra style. > The only time one player can dominate a limited number of niches is when there are few niches to begin with. What?? What are you even saying? It's an entire world filled with niches. There's no sense in which niches are limited. How does it ever make sense to talk about "a limited number of niches"??
- SuoDuanDao 6y ago
  >There's no sense in which niches are limited. If that were true, people would still be buying pet supplies from Pets.com and books from Amazon.com. The fact everyone knows what is meant by 'FAANG' should demonstrate how few actual niches exist in the digital space. Communication is difficult when worldviews are very different and you seem uninterested in meeting me halfway. I'd be happy to explore this area of dialogue further, but you'd need to agree to stop insulting me.
  - solipsism 6y ago
    If that were true, people would still be buying pet supplies from Pets.com and books from Amazon.com I don't understand. Amazon sells some very large percentage of every book sold in the world. What are you saying? The fact everyone knows what is meant by 'FAANG' should demonstrate how few actual niches exist in the digital space. What does this mean? A niche is a very specific market segment. The presence of extremely large players does not negate the presence of niches. Niches exist whether or not there companies taking advantage of them. Communication is difficult, that's why words matter. I think you should choose your words more carefully and make sure you are double-checking that the things you are saying actually make sense.