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unhinged
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'each pathbreaking innovation promises to liberate technology from the talons of the monopolists, to create a new network so democratic that it will transform human nature. somehow, in each instance, humanity remains its familiar self. instead of profound redistribution of power, the new networks are captured by new monopolies, each more powerful and sophisticated than the one before it. the personal computer came to be dominated by a single innovation-inhibiting firm (microsoft). access to the internet soon required handing over substantial monthly sums to telecommunication toll collectors who carved up the map into zones of barely challenged supremacy (comcast, verizon, time warner). meanwhile, one site (google) emerged as the portal to knowledge; another (amazon) as the starting point of all commerce. and even though we can talk about social networks in plural, really only one (facebook) encompasses nearly two billion individuals.' - franklin foer
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171218
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