Individuals and the "Bubble"

One of the most interesting things discussed in the video about the "Bubble" (the quick rise and demise of new technologies that is followed by a golden age), is how individual power is growing just as quickly as, if not faster than, corporate power. Sites like Amazon and eBay allow individuals to compete with large corporate retailers, which has revolutionized how we buy and sell online.

We can see how this has been carried over into sectors like the music industry, where many bands or individual artists are choosing to release downloads of their music from their own website rather than going through major labels or record stores. While it might seem like the web is dominated by industry giants like Google, Facebook, etc., individuals are actually being empowered as well.

Another interesting point from the movie addressed how Amazon and eBay focused primarily on the consumer experience instead of making money. Both of these companies began operations under the same theory: sacrifice profits for customer satisfaction. Rather than trying to figure out how to make profits, they companies sought to harvest a large following. Both creators realized that as user numbers increase, the usefulness of the sites increase as well. This concept, which seemed strange at the time, is now proving to be extremely successful.

Take, for example: Facebook, Google, YouTube, and Twitter. Each of these sites are free to use, and provide valuable services to their users. However, since they do not charge for use and did not sell advertisements (this has changed as the companies have grown), no one knew how they would be able to make money. The creators of these sites realized that the most important thing is to 'get big fast', and worry about how to make money later. Now these sites have become so connected to our daily lives that they are irreplaceable.