4 ms·

If you primarily rely on sources of information in English (of which I'm guilty, too) then obviously you will be mostly getting information from the Anglosphere

If you primarily rely on sources of information in English (of which I'm guilty, too) then obviously you will be mostly getting information from the Anglosphere dominated by the US because it's, oh you know, richest and most powerful country in the history of the world. This is not some "Americans cover their successes" thing. It's that they matter more. There is an underlying economic reality in which we are lagging far behind them. Not Africa-far but still far. In a picture http://cdn.static-economist.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/290-width/images/print-edition/20120728_FBC674.png http://cdn.static-economist.com/sites/default/files/imagecac... from http://www.economist.com/node/21559618 http://www.economist.com/node/21559618

Hermel 13y ago
This effect even gets reinforced by the European journalists: a German speaking journalist will read German and English sources. A Spanish journalist will read Spanish and English sources, etc. Having the "lingua franca" is a huge asset for the Anglosphere. It not only affects the flow of news, it also leads to cultural dominance (everyone watches Hollywood movies, but European movies are primarily shown in their home countries, same goes for music). I would say that average Jean in many European countries knows more about the Anglosaxon legal system than their own one - just because they get exposed to TV shows about US lawyers all the time. The French try to fight that influence - but I think resistance is futile. Instead, the Europeans should try to find angles to inject their own views into the English news & culture stream. This leads to one large globalized, multi-cultural soup of values - but that's better than an Anglosaxon dominated soup of values. The times where each country could have their own soup are over.
- 1stop 13y ago
  Language is culture, good luck injecting chinese expressions into english... they just don't work. Language is the way we think, translating the way we think to one language changes how we think (i.e things are lost). > The times where each country could have their own soup are over. There are more people who don't care about the anglosaxon world than there are people who do care (China is a prime example here).
  - mkr-hn 13y ago
    > Language is culture, good luck injecting chinese expressions into english... they just don't work. Ni hao English has a lot of loan words and imported phrases, and new ones are always on the horizon.
    - sliverstorm 13y ago
      Clearly he means expressions, e.g. idioms and that sort of thing. It's time to jump off the stage at Kiyomizu Quick, without using Google tell me what I mean.
      - mkr-hn 13y ago
        > Clearly he means I wouldn't have posted if a different interpretation were clear.
        sliverstorm 13y ago
        Ni Hao is not an expression any more than Hello is. Expression: a word or phrase, esp. an idiomatic one, used to convey an idea.
- rjtavares 13y ago
  Indeed. I'm often amazed at the kind of American news reported by the Portuguese media and think "Why aren't we getting these news about European countries?". At the same time, I'm part of the problem: I know more about American politics than German politics, even though the latter affects me a lot more.
genofon 13y ago
" richest and most powerful country in the history of the world..." not even close http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pre-modern_great_powers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pre-modern_great_powers
- spindritf 13y ago
  Does any of those countries come close to the GDP of, say, Alabama ($160bn)? Sure, comparing the value of organic wine form Rome to a car from Detroit is not straight-forward but technological progress and compound interest generally ensure that powers of today absolutely dwarf those of even a hundred years ago, not to mention a thousand years ago, or two. The ancient empires had troubles feeding their populations at times. Today, most Americans are overweight.
  - oblio 13y ago
    I think he wants to compare the relative values. The Achaemenid Empire at its peak probably produced half of the world's goods.
  - idlewan 13y ago
    > The ancient empires had troubles feeding their populations at times. Today, most Americans are overweight. Problem not solved: the population still has problems being fed the right things for their health to improve.
  - genofon 13y ago
    GDP is a modern concept made to measure today's economy. But if you talk about power US is the most powerful country but not dominant (see Syria and Crimea). The British empire at his peak held one fifth of the worlds population. The Roman empire conquered everything was worth conquering and he was providing free food and gigantic games to his poor citizens. If you consider modern Europe his GDP is very similar to the US, although his political situation is more fragmented. So back to the OP in each era the economic conditions improved, and there was a place where this improvements was more evident, a country who was richer and more powerful than the others. US is one of these nations but it's not something exceptional in history as the OP suggested.
brwnll 13y ago
You begin with a valid point, that many English speaking technology blogs are US based, and therefore have a (valid) US bias. That said, the idea that the coverage of US based acquisitions are inherently more important than elsewhere worldwide is utter nonsense. As other comments point out, many, many large nontechnical acquisitions get very little coverage outside their respective channels. There are a handful of tech companies who have become media darlings and/or are considered within the community to be thought leaders or industry shapers, who make headlines with every move. But the OP makes a great point, in that when some successful founders reach at least sudo celebrity status (eg: Jack Dorsey), and can be used as examples they can be magnets that encourage the next generation of entrepreneurs.
ivanca 13y ago
>Anglosphere dominated by the US because it's Is because is perceived as such, regardless if it's true or not. Because under measures such as the GDP is far from the top[0] [0]http://travel.fyicenter.com/Country/List_of_Countries_by_GDP_per_Capita_Ranking.php http://travel.fyicenter.com/Country/List_of_Countries_by_GDP...
- kiiski 13y ago
  We're talking about nations, not people, so I don't think "GDP per capita" is relevant. USA has by far the highest total GDP. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nomin...
  - ivanca 13y ago
    Per-capita is way more important, a rich man doesn't need more than one toothbrush and it's detrimental for a country when other men can't afford a single one.
    - kiiski 13y ago
      The question is "which country is the richest and most powerful". If we use the per capita statistics, Luxembourg is. That doesn't sound quite right, does it? If we look at the totals instead, the top ranks are USA, China, Japan and Germany. If you ask me, that seems more like what we're looking for.
      - ivanca 13y ago
        Who is this "we" are you talking about? USA spends most of its income in military which is as dystopian as it gets, plus it haves 5.1 trillions in debt, while there are countries with no debt at all.
    - bogs_carut 13y ago
      Insofar as domestic policy is concerned, per-capita is relevant. Foreign policy, which is decided by governments that tax the aggregate population (and thus draw from the GDP)? Not in the slightest.
oblio 13y ago
Well, you have to put that image into context. The US hasn't been devastated by 2 world wars. I'd say that the graph proves it - the first moment where the US was massively ahead was 1900-1925. Want to bet that 90% of the European companies from that period are pre-1914? What is more worrying is 1976-2007 -> does that mean that things are ossified already? That there's no room for smaller companies to grow? I'd blame European conservatism for this together with US multinationals.

Hermel 13y ago

This effect even gets reinforced by the European journalists: a German speaking journalist will read German and English sources. A Spanish journalist will read Spanish and English sources, etc. Having the "lingua franca" is a huge asset for the Anglosphere. It not only affects the flow of news, it also leads to cultural dominance (everyone watches Hollywood movies, but European movies are primarily shown in their home countries, same goes for music). I would say that average Jean in many European countries knows more about the Anglosaxon legal system than their own one - just because they get exposed to TV shows about US lawyers all the time. The French try to fight that influence - but I think resistance is futile. Instead, the Europeans should try to find angles to inject their own views into the English news & culture stream. This leads to one large globalized, multi-cultural soup of values - but that's better than an Anglosaxon dominated soup of values. The times where each country could have their own soup are over.

1stop 13y ago
Language is culture, good luck injecting chinese expressions into english... they just don't work. Language is the way we think, translating the way we think to one language changes how we think (i.e things are lost). > The times where each country could have their own soup are over. There are more people who don't care about the anglosaxon world than there are people who do care (China is a prime example here).
- mkr-hn 13y ago
  > Language is culture, good luck injecting chinese expressions into english... they just don't work. Ni hao English has a lot of loan words and imported phrases, and new ones are always on the horizon.
  - sliverstorm 13y ago
    Clearly he means expressions, e.g. idioms and that sort of thing. It's time to jump off the stage at Kiyomizu Quick, without using Google tell me what I mean.
    - mkr-hn 13y ago
      > Clearly he means I wouldn't have posted if a different interpretation were clear.
      - sliverstorm 13y ago
        Ni Hao is not an expression any more than Hello is. Expression: a word or phrase, esp. an idiomatic one, used to convey an idea.
rjtavares 13y ago
Indeed. I'm often amazed at the kind of American news reported by the Portuguese media and think "Why aren't we getting these news about European countries?". At the same time, I'm part of the problem: I know more about American politics than German politics, even though the latter affects me a lot more.

genofon 13y ago

" richest and most powerful country in the history of the world..." not even close http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pre-modern_great_powers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pre-modern_great_powers

spindritf 13y ago
Does any of those countries come close to the GDP of, say, Alabama ($160bn)? Sure, comparing the value of organic wine form Rome to a car from Detroit is not straight-forward but technological progress and compound interest generally ensure that powers of today absolutely dwarf those of even a hundred years ago, not to mention a thousand years ago, or two. The ancient empires had troubles feeding their populations at times. Today, most Americans are overweight.
- oblio 13y ago
  I think he wants to compare the relative values. The Achaemenid Empire at its peak probably produced half of the world's goods.
- idlewan 13y ago
  > The ancient empires had troubles feeding their populations at times. Today, most Americans are overweight. Problem not solved: the population still has problems being fed the right things for their health to improve.
- genofon 13y ago
  GDP is a modern concept made to measure today's economy. But if you talk about power US is the most powerful country but not dominant (see Syria and Crimea). The British empire at his peak held one fifth of the worlds population. The Roman empire conquered everything was worth conquering and he was providing free food and gigantic games to his poor citizens. If you consider modern Europe his GDP is very similar to the US, although his political situation is more fragmented. So back to the OP in each era the economic conditions improved, and there was a place where this improvements was more evident, a country who was richer and more powerful than the others. US is one of these nations but it's not something exceptional in history as the OP suggested.

brwnll 13y ago

You begin with a valid point, that many English speaking technology blogs are US based, and therefore have a (valid) US bias. That said, the idea that the coverage of US based acquisitions are inherently more important than elsewhere worldwide is utter nonsense. As other comments point out, many, many large nontechnical acquisitions get very little coverage outside their respective channels. There are a handful of tech companies who have become media darlings and/or are considered within the community to be thought leaders or industry shapers, who make headlines with every move. But the OP makes a great point, in that when some successful founders reach at least sudo celebrity status (eg: Jack Dorsey), and can be used as examples they can be magnets that encourage the next generation of entrepreneurs.

ivanca 13y ago

>Anglosphere dominated by the US because it's Is because is perceived as such, regardless if it's true or not. Because under measures such as the GDP is far from the top[0] [0]http://travel.fyicenter.com/Country/List_of_Countries_by_GDP_per_Capita_Ranking.php http://travel.fyicenter.com/Country/List_of_Countries_by_GDP...

kiiski 13y ago
We're talking about nations, not people, so I don't think "GDP per capita" is relevant. USA has by far the highest total GDP. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nomin...
- ivanca 13y ago
  Per-capita is way more important, a rich man doesn't need more than one toothbrush and it's detrimental for a country when other men can't afford a single one.
  - kiiski 13y ago
    The question is "which country is the richest and most powerful". If we use the per capita statistics, Luxembourg is. That doesn't sound quite right, does it? If we look at the totals instead, the top ranks are USA, China, Japan and Germany. If you ask me, that seems more like what we're looking for.
    - ivanca 13y ago
      Who is this "we" are you talking about? USA spends most of its income in military which is as dystopian as it gets, plus it haves 5.1 trillions in debt, while there are countries with no debt at all.
  - bogs_carut 13y ago
    Insofar as domestic policy is concerned, per-capita is relevant. Foreign policy, which is decided by governments that tax the aggregate population (and thus draw from the GDP)? Not in the slightest.

oblio 13y ago

Well, you have to put that image into context. The US hasn't been devastated by 2 world wars. I'd say that the graph proves it - the first moment where the US was massively ahead was 1900-1925. Want to bet that 90% of the European companies from that period are pre-1914? What is more worrying is 1976-2007 -> does that mean that things are ossified already? That there's no room for smaller companies to grow? I'd blame European conservatism for this together with US multinationals.