Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple: battle of the internet giants

The only definite winner of Friday's Facebook float is likely to be Zuckerberg (AP)

The four big beasts of the internet do very different things. Facebook does social. Google does search. Amazon does retail. And Apple does hardware. Yet, according to this week's cover story for the Economist, they're united in one major way: swollen egos. Concern is growing almost everywhere about their clout. For all that, the weekly newspaper (as it still styles itself) argues, "anti-trust watchdogs should tread carefully".

Here's the conclusion of the argument: "... The tech world is changing so fast that it brings to mind Joseph Schumpeter’s comment about the “perennial gale of creative destruction” that sweeps through economies as innovative insurgents take on entrenched incumbents. Microsoft’s antitrust problems now seem less vital than the fact that, even while it tangled with regulators, the giant squid failed to sense that the commercial currents had shifted against it. The four big fish nowadays also have a reputation for arrogance and plenty of enemies. If they really want to keep the trustbusters at bay, they should not let their size go to their heads."