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Accepting but regulating centralization of the Web I think we failed to appreciate how much the average user would need centralized services (Search & Social)
by softwaredoug 5y ago
Accepting but regulating centralization of the Web
I think we failed to appreciate how much the average user would need centralized services (Search & Social) to use the Web. Both of these services are around discoverability of content. Humans want a water cooler to visit and chit-chat, or an organized library to look for information.
Additionally, because accessing the Web was seen at first as "free" (outside your ISP), people would gravitate towards "free" centralized services like Facebook and Google.
This created a recipe for what we see today with the incredible power of these companies over so many aspects of our lives.
So what would I think should be different? I would have been more thoughtful about regulating these centralized services in the way the FCC regulates the airwaves & media companies. Which is even more proactive than antitrust law. It's OK that they're profitable. That's good! But we ought to avoid single companies owning the entire search / social space.