The flip side of this argument is that there exists someone that can make sense of these complex systems. What is true is that no one single person can understand every aspect of the complex world we live in. I am not too sure that is a problem, as long as you are willing to accept that your agency and understanding are rather limited.
As a related aside, kids can often reflect their parents anxiety. Adults are super stressed and anxious about the future, and I am sure that is having a noticeable effect on children.
Hopefully, the capital will not end up wasted, and at least some of these companies can gather the resources that they have and create something of value. If not, we will look at this speculative craze as a remarkable waste of resources.
This is an interesting moment. The browser wars appear to be over and there is a victor! We have a new tech monopoly. We shall see how enduring it is. My sense is that in 20 years something new will be allowing us to browse through humanities info.
In the end, Facebook's success will be its biggest headwind. They had been on a tear for years since inception. That type of success makes it harder for people to switch gears when problems arise. It is fundamentally unclear how Facebook will navigate these turbid waters.
This is not surprising. There are many serious people worried about the mental health aspects of being on social media for extended periods of time. As with most things in life, moderation is key. They can be useful services as long as they do not consume you.
Her story is sad. She seems lost, and I do not think she was helped very well by Polly. A lot of people feeling lost nowadays end up on the wrong side of 40 with little to show for it. It is heartbreaking to watch and must be terribly difficult for the families and people involved.
I think it is good that these engineers are standing up for what they believe in. It will be an interesting litmus test
for the leadership to see what type of company they want Google to become.
Also, I am interested how the tense China-US relationship will effect the broader tech investment strategy in East Asia. Are we going to see divestment in the next 18 months by US tech companies in China?
Apple will continue on the trajectory that it is on, until people stop buying things on their platform. The share price will reflect this as net income is the name of the game. If and when they miss, I would expect significant changes in leadership and the direction of the company. Until then, they will keep hammering these incremental i* "improvements". The mediocre features you highlighted will not necessarily impact them if they can convince people that they are worth it.
I think this is mainly a question of momentum. Microsoft is benefiting from some good strategic decisions in recent past, and has a large number of legacy businesses that are quite profitable. Apple in the short term is too dependent on the iPhone, and it will take a few quarters to build a more robust product pipeline.
I think this is natural. The line between a hobby project, and unpaid venture can be quite thin. When your attention is split, it only becomes harder. Most rational people want to live life a little, and not work constantly.
Hmm... it seems this drip of bad news in big tech is setting up for some heated debates on regulation. It will be interesting how proactive the Europeans are with GDPR.
I think the truly remarkable thing about the story was how optimistic Facebook employees were at the end of 2017. A company of that size is bound to make mistakes. Even in the most rosy of scenarios, a complete reorganization of human society around a few social networks was bound to have severe consequences. Facebook is not immune to it. Once you have a large percentage of humanity on your platform, then you will get the best and worst of it.