Google, Facebook, Amazon, Ebay: are all larger than life companies, connecting millions of people together every day. In “The Virtual Revolution” these companies are regarded as monopolies of the web. In Western society, monopoly has a negative connotation; it is seen as something too powerful and detrimental to the idea of a free and open market, or in this case a free and open web. The definition for monopoly is the exclusive possession or control of the supply or trade in a commodity or service. These companies are not monopolies. Yes they hold a large part of the market but the beauty about the web and the changing of generations is that something new, shinier, and better always comes along.
Talk to anyone currently in high school and middle school and I promise, very few students will have a Facebook account. Facebook just isn’t cool to them; their parents, grandparents and teachers have accounts. Ebay and Amazon are able to connect millions of people to sell their goods but the newer site, Etsy, has found a niche for truly vintage items and homemade crafts and clothing.
These large companies have vast user bases but they do not have exclusive control of such services. They launched at the right time, they have a business model that works, and users support them and continue to do so daily. (I personally cannot wait for the reign of the House of Google.) While I do not see these websites dying out anytime soon (RIP MySpace), as the number of people with access to the web increases, new companies will find a niche or a new problem to solve, and they could be the next big thing.
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