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"we're facing the prospect of Facebook as the platform, Apple as the platform, Google as the platform, Amazon as the platform, where big companies slug it out u

by lecha 17y ago

"we're facing the prospect of Facebook as the platform, Apple as the platform, Google as the platform, Amazon as the platform, where big companies slug it out until one is king of the hill. " The argument makes a lot of sense, but why is Amazon in this list? It is true that Amazon is in the war for control. But that war is for control of the data center, not for control of the web.

allenp 17y ago
Amazon is looking for control of online retail as well, especially with their recent purchase of Zappos. I don't know how this fits in to a battle with the other contenders however.
- TheEarlyShow 17y ago
  I think the implication may be swaying over into the box store segment. Meaning, while they may not be battling other online entities, they are doing a lot of pushing against the online presence of several box retailers.
coderdude 17y ago
I would think Amazon deserves to be on that list more than Apple. Apple as a platform doesn't even make sense. What are they doing to become infrastucture for others to build upon, the app store? Amazon made cloud computing popular, did they not? Edit: My comment reads like I'm getting defensive for Amazon, and or bashing Apple. I'm not.
mechanical_fish 17y ago
why is Amazon in this list? Kindle, I suspect. Remember, this is being written by Tim O'Reilly, a person who has reason to know and care about the Kindle's position in the digital-text marketplace and the relative openness (or lack of openness) of the platform. I agree that Amazon Web Services doesn't seem to belong on this list. AWS is a powerful offering, but it's not as if Amazon has an exclusive lock on the Linux virtual server business. I believe that even their provisioning API is in the process of being cloned in open source.
- lecha 17y ago
  Ah yes, thanks. Kindle slipped my mind. It makes sense now. Kindle does have a potential to become a walled-garden ecosystem reminiscent to Apple. There's nothing Kindle wants more than to become an iPod of books and will very likely curb the Web experience on Kindle to suit its business needs.
rapind 17y ago
I would remove Facebook from that sentence, not Amazon. Amazon, Apple, and Google are three heavyweights with a slightly different focus and strengths, but who find themselves competing more and more often for a sort of internet consumer dominance. They compete at several platforms: 1. The storefront (iTunes and Amazon, Google's in there as search and recommendations). 2. The datacenter / cloud (AWS, MobileMe, Docs / Gmail / more to come from Google) 3. Mobile devices (iPhone + iPod, Android, Kindle) There are other companies competing in each of these areas of course, but these three companies really excel at taking over markets (very smart people running them) and it's going to be interesting to see them going head to head as they reach into each others core markets. Plus I think they'll destroy most other competitors in each of these areas as they battle it out.
- bjelkeman-again 17y ago
  Usually they say the future belongs to the kids. I see a lot of kids that live in Facebook these days. They don't read books, they don't buy music online, they don't care much for mail. Facebook definitely has a place among these three.
  - rapind 17y ago
    No doubt you're right. I guess it's just a generational thing. I hear Google, Amazon, iTunes, and I see immediate value. For some reason, even though I'm aware of all (or at least most) of the arguments that place value in Facebook / Twitter etc. I still wouldn't feel comfortable investing in it. I'm probably dating myself pretty badly, but they look fluffy to me.
jhancock 17y ago
kindle and streaming media. Amazon doesn't compete with iTunes/NetFlix yet, but they want to.

by lecha 17y ago

allenp 17y ago

Amazon is looking for control of online retail as well, especially with their recent purchase of Zappos. I don't know how this fits in to a battle with the other contenders however.

TheEarlyShow 17y ago
I think the implication may be swaying over into the box store segment. Meaning, while they may not be battling other online entities, they are doing a lot of pushing against the online presence of several box retailers.

coderdude 17y ago

I would think Amazon deserves to be on that list more than Apple. Apple as a platform doesn't even make sense. What are they doing to become infrastucture for others to build upon, the app store? Amazon made cloud computing popular, did they not? Edit: My comment reads like I'm getting defensive for Amazon, and or bashing Apple. I'm not.

mechanical_fish 17y ago

why is Amazon in this list? Kindle, I suspect. Remember, this is being written by Tim O'Reilly, a person who has reason to know and care about the Kindle's position in the digital-text marketplace and the relative openness (or lack of openness) of the platform. I agree that Amazon Web Services doesn't seem to belong on this list. AWS is a powerful offering, but it's not as if Amazon has an exclusive lock on the Linux virtual server business. I believe that even their provisioning API is in the process of being cloned in open source.

lecha 17y ago
Ah yes, thanks. Kindle slipped my mind. It makes sense now. Kindle does have a potential to become a walled-garden ecosystem reminiscent to Apple. There's nothing Kindle wants more than to become an iPod of books and will very likely curb the Web experience on Kindle to suit its business needs.

rapind 17y ago

I would remove Facebook from that sentence, not Amazon. Amazon, Apple, and Google are three heavyweights with a slightly different focus and strengths, but who find themselves competing more and more often for a sort of internet consumer dominance. They compete at several platforms: 1. The storefront (iTunes and Amazon, Google's in there as search and recommendations). 2. The datacenter / cloud (AWS, MobileMe, Docs / Gmail / more to come from Google) 3. Mobile devices (iPhone + iPod, Android, Kindle) There are other companies competing in each of these areas of course, but these three companies really excel at taking over markets (very smart people running them) and it's going to be interesting to see them going head to head as they reach into each others core markets. Plus I think they'll destroy most other competitors in each of these areas as they battle it out.

bjelkeman-again 17y ago
Usually they say the future belongs to the kids. I see a lot of kids that live in Facebook these days. They don't read books, they don't buy music online, they don't care much for mail. Facebook definitely has a place among these three.
- rapind 17y ago
  No doubt you're right. I guess it's just a generational thing. I hear Google, Amazon, iTunes, and I see immediate value. For some reason, even though I'm aware of all (or at least most) of the arguments that place value in Facebook / Twitter etc. I still wouldn't feel comfortable investing in it. I'm probably dating myself pretty badly, but they look fluffy to me.

jhancock 17y ago

kindle and streaming media. Amazon doesn't compete with iTunes/NetFlix yet, but they want to.