Around the Net

Report: Party's Over Online

Dark days are ahead for the Web companies and online consumers alike, according to MercuryNews.com, citing sentiments from insiders at the Web 2.0 conference this week. "The fear that ran through the seventh annual Web 2.0 Summit is that the days when the Internet was a playground for startups with unlimited potential are disappearing," writes MercuryNews.com. "Instead, we are moving into an era dominated by a handful of new Internet titans more interested in fighting each other for power and influence than in delighting users with new innovations."

Who's to blame for such rampant innovation stifling? All the usual suspects, including Apple, Amazon, and Google, along with a few newcomers like Facebook. "Each has assumed a dominant position in their respective markets -- mobile, search, social networking, e-commerce -- and are focused on how to defend their turf while infiltrating their rivals' territory." Any student of history will tell you that such consolidation of power is standard practice for all industries. Whether so-called "disrupters" will break the mold remains to be seen.

Read the whole story at Mercury News »

Next story loading loading..