The war between Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple

In case you want to shorten the title in similar situations ("The GAFA War"):

FAMGA - Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon

GAFA - Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple

FANG - Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google

> Your iPhone signals you’re wealthier, better-educated, and more attractive than an Android user.

The "status" argument is a bit silly. An iPhone costs about the same as a dog annually, [1].

[1] https://xkcd.com/980/huge/#x=-980&y=-2276&z=5

I'm genuinely unsure how I feel about this article.

First, the internet itself is only in danger if net neutrality is genuinely threatened by ISPs. Until then, the network itself is as open as it ever was.

As for the services on top, the meta-layer of products and infrastructure we rely on--social media, content sources, smartphones and smart devices, etc--there's a lot of reason to be concerned.

But Amazon's marketshare is tiny compared to traditional retailers. They're growing, sure, but they're not a monopoly yet.

Apple is already being beaten on many fronts, smartphones included.

Google is successful in a few areas (search, email, android), but they've proven incapable of pushing into other major areas (streaming services, social, etc).

And Facebook also has basically one core competency.

So, there's lots of reasons to be concerned. But this article feels more than a little hyperbolic.

And as a random aside, modern theories suggest that pyramid builders were paid employees and not slaves.

The "status" argument is the least silly thing in that statement.

> Facebook's algorithmic echo chamber got Trump elected.

The article he references talks extensively about how the campaign effectively used social media for fundraising and advertising instead of tv, not echo chambers for brainwashing people. After all this time people still can't admit that echo chambers are what propped up Clinton in every media outlet and poll.