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“Yeah, Microsoft – that defunct company”

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Tim O’Reilly has a really cool post on his blog about Amazon’s un-ecological approach to things lately. A (large – please forgive me, Tim) excerpt:

But as Amazon’s market power increases, it needs to be mindful of whether its moves, even those that may be good for the company in the short term, are ultimately destructive of the ecosystem on which they depend. I believe that they are heading in that direction, and if they succeed with some of their initiatives, they will wake up one day to discover that they’ve sown the seeds of their own destruction, just as Microsoft did in the 1990s.

At O’Reilly, we have a motto: "Create more value than you capture." It’s a wise motto for companies far bigger than we are to adopt. If you do that, you ensure a healthy ecosystem. If you capture more value than you create, watch out, because stagnation is on the way.

Amazon has, so far, created huge value for the publishing ecosystem. Now, as they become more powerful, they need to be especially watchful that they don’t irreparably damage an industry on which they too depend.

A friend of mine responded to this with, "Yeah, Microsoft – that defunct company." And I admit I had the same thought – Microsoft is in no danger of dying anytime soon. But they did indeed do some damage to themselves, just as Apple did (anyone remember when Apple was struggling?), just as IBM did. In fact, IBM might be an even better example.

Tim’s post is a good thought. It’s a responsible thought. (But – as others have pointed out – not all businesses are responsible.) In the words of .38 Special, "hold on loosely."

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Posted by Laura Dawson, 11:25 am, Comments (0), permalink

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