Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

'The End Of The Level Playing Field' (avc.com)

Posted by msmash on from the shape-of-things-to-come dept.

Venture Capitalist Fred Wilson writes in a blog post: When the Internet came along in the early 90s, we saw something completely different. Here was a level playing field where anyone could launch a business without permission from anyone. We had a great run over the last 25 years but I fear it's coming to an end, brought on by the growing consolidation of market power in the big consumer facing tech companies like Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, etc, by the constricted distribution mechanisms on mobile devices, and by new leadership at the FCC that is going to tear down the notion that mobile carriers can't play the same game cable companies played. It is certainly true that consumers, particularly low-income consumers, like getting free or subsidized data plans. There is no doubt about that. But when the subsidies are coming from the big tech companies, who can easily pay them, to buy competitive advantage over that nimble startup that is scaring them, well we know how that movie ends.

11 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. It's never been level by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You can make money up to a certain point, but if the big companies notice you and can't buy you out, they will destroy you with legal proceedings. The broken patent laws are enough to put anyone out of business, pretty much everyone is breaking some unknown law.

    1. Re:It's never been level by interkin3tic · · Score: 3, Insightful

      But it has been closer to level before now. Something doesn't need to have been perfect to get worse.

  2. Local problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    and by new leadership at the FCC that is going to tear down the notion that mobile carriers can't play the same game cable companies played

    Isn't that mostly a local problem in the single country where the FCC has authority?

    1. Re:Local problem? by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Most of the issues cited are specific to the US. Most of the "innovation" coming from the US these days consists of adding more bells & whistles and/or gaming the system. But there are lots of places that aren't in the US.

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  3. this happens in most mature markets by Idisagree · · Score: 5, Insightful

    its almost like you could describe it as a cycle of sorts, funny that....

    see here for more info - www.inc.com/encyclopedia/industry-life-cycle.html

    1. Re:this happens in most mature markets by bazorg · · Score: 4, Insightful

      We can always take lessons from the past and compare auto industries with whatever we like (in good /. tradition!).
      Nevertheless there are significant differences... and that's just taking the examples from the summary.

      Facebook is not an early internet company... they've turned up after others looked mature enough to get some cash from their products/services... but failed.
      Amazon is an early internet company (IMHO) but which industry cycle pattern applies if they went on a huge horizontal expansion and then vertical integration that leads them to where they are today?
      Google I don't understand and never will...
      Microsoft does not get a mention even though they've been an early internet-related company before 3 out of 4 in the list, and now gets a higher sales total now than when their OS was in 90%+ of devices. They've become a smaller fish in a much larger pond.
      The company formerly known as Apple Computer made their greatest product line by beating established companies in a mature market.

      What cycles do we see there if these companies are all actors in multiple markets precisely to avoid being overtaken by newcomers? The patterns are not *that* obvious and predictable as the grandparent poster suggests. If some new company invents something really great that gets them millions of paying customers, net neutrality rules changing will be a pain but won't stop them completely. More likely the hurry to be acquired will be a bigger factor.

  4. The Gold Rush by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The Internet was in the era of the gold rush, where independent sorts rushed out into the wild to try to make their fortunes. Several did, many didn't. Now we're in the era of the company towns and robber barons. The ending of that era came in part when government set rules with teeth, and in part by the rise of unions.

  5. reap what you sow by mschaffer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Seriously, a venture capatalist is complaining about the state of things? VCs created this very environment so that they could profit from it. It was only possible by tying up all of the IP and suing everyone into oblivion if they infringed over the smallest detail.
    You reap what you sow.

  6. it's not that new. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    When the Internet came along in the early 90s

    Don't mistake when you personally became aware of it with the beginning. I was on the net in 1983, and it wasn't new then. I know a person who was on arpanet in 1979, and it actually started circa 1969 or 1970.

    But yes, it is becoming more centralized, centrally controlled, and proprietary all the time. That's being driven by the choices of several billion non-technical users who don't grasp how critically important it is to maintain openness and decentralization. I do not believe Facebook would have succeeded with the tech-literate users of the 1980's internet. It took the eternal september crowd to make that happen.

  7. Not for long by Comboman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Isn't that mostly a local problem in the single country where the FCC has authority?

    Not for long. The US is very adept at exporting its horrible laws to other countries by writing them into trade agreements.

    --
    Support Right To Repair Legislation.
    1. Re:Not for long by dpilot · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This too may have passed. I expect the rest of the world to be more resistant to the US exporting much of anything, policy-wise, for the near future.

      --
      The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.