4 ms·

That's not true. I am old enough to remember that we had boutique dog treats in the 90s, too. The vet my parents used sold some, and I recall several nearby bak

by giaour 3y ago

That's not true. I am old enough to remember that we had boutique dog treats in the 90s, too. The vet my parents used sold some, and I recall several nearby bakeries (not chains) selling house-made dog biscuits.

pksebben 3y ago
Yeah that’s the current situation is better for small businesses is a bit of a weird take, considering how consolidated the world has gotten in the last 20 years. While there might be anecdotes to support such a claim, the numbers tell a different story. Any reduction in friction is bound to benefit the businesses with the largest footprint, as they can leverage economies of scale and recursive synergies.
- idopmstuff 3y ago
  > Yeah that’s the current situation is better for small businesses is a bit of a weird take, considering how consolidated the world has gotten in the last 20 years. I think it's more nuanced than that - it's not that the current situation overall is better, it's that the state of advertising is better. On the other side of things, the ability of large corporations to achieve greater economies of scale is decidedly worse for small businesses, to your point. The fact that targeted advertising is there helps to offset that a bit.
vasco 3y ago
Yes but the barrier to start a internet-only small business with advertising is the lowest it's ever been. Before you were either only local (bad luck if there's already a pet store in your town), or you had to be huge. Online advertising is a great equalizer that has allowed many regular people to run successful businesses without much starting capital.
- JohnFen 3y ago
  > Online advertising is a great equalizer that has allowed many regular people to run successful businesses without much starting capital. Maybe so, but I personally don't think that's worth abusing the public with tracking.

4 ms·

That's not true. I am old enough to remember that we had boutique dog treats in the 90s, too. The vet my parents used sold some, and I recall several nearby bak

by giaour 3y ago

pksebben 3y ago
Yeah that’s the current situation is better for small businesses is a bit of a weird take, considering how consolidated the world has gotten in the last 20 years. While there might be anecdotes to support such a claim, the numbers tell a different story. Any reduction in friction is bound to benefit the businesses with the largest footprint, as they can leverage economies of scale and recursive synergies.
- idopmstuff 3y ago
  > Yeah that’s the current situation is better for small businesses is a bit of a weird take, considering how consolidated the world has gotten in the last 20 years. I think it's more nuanced than that - it's not that the current situation overall is better, it's that the state of advertising is better. On the other side of things, the ability of large corporations to achieve greater economies of scale is decidedly worse for small businesses, to your point. The fact that targeted advertising is there helps to offset that a bit.
vasco 3y ago
Yes but the barrier to start a internet-only small business with advertising is the lowest it's ever been. Before you were either only local (bad luck if there's already a pet store in your town), or you had to be huge. Online advertising is a great equalizer that has allowed many regular people to run successful businesses without much starting capital.
- JohnFen 3y ago
  > Online advertising is a great equalizer that has allowed many regular people to run successful businesses without much starting capital. Maybe so, but I personally don't think that's worth abusing the public with tracking.