I came across this item in my mail today from
| Adam Roberts Digital editor Big tech has big problems. After a bull run that lasted years, the sector is suffering a sharp correction. Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft have collectively lost $2trn in stockmarket value in the past year. On November 9th Meta, the parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said it would shed 11,000 people, or 13% of its workforce; Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, sacked half its personnel. According to Crunchbase, a data provider, more than 60,000 American techies have been shown the door in 2022. We’ve been looking at what went wrong. Shaky business models are partly to blame, along with soaring inflation and rising mortgage payments that have left digital consumers with less disposable income to splash out on digital delights. Meanwhile the sector is afflicted with “conglomeritis”, the symptoms of which are bloating and egomania. William Magnuson’s magnificent history of corporations, reviewed in our Culture section this week, suggests this is not a new phenomenon. For more than 2,000 years corporations have produced some of humankind’s greatest achievements. But usually the most dazzling overstep the mark, leaving a trail of debris and distrust. |
The above addresses the problem that many are seeing in the Bay Area through the lens of their network and the pain it causes. On November 9th Meta, the parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said it would shed 11,000 people, or 13% of its workforce; Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, sacked half its personnel. According to Crunchbase, a data provider, more than 60,000 American techies have been shown the door in 2022.
The summary or conclusion as noted:
But usually the most dazzling overstep the mark, leaving a trail of debris and distrust.
is the general “blame those at the top”. No one can deny that. But it is also stating the obvious (i.e.) the “Bottleneck” is the result of the neck at the top of the bottle! Such oversimplified generalizations leave out the role of self-realization and individual responsibility.
Over the generations those who have weathered the challenges of time and economic cycles are those who have constantly delved deep into the situation and their personal contribution to value generation. We call this as the propensity to be aware of the need for “New Solutions” and make them real and implemented. These System Thinkers with Transformational Skills are the only ones who survive on a sustainable basis in the long run. These skills have been in acute need since the late 70s, since the birth of Digital Technology, the seed for the “Digital Darlings”! For details, please see: https://stimsinstitute.com/2022/08/17/were-in-this-era-of-measurement-but-we-dont-know-what-we-should-be-measuring/
The bloating and egomania suggests another creeping problem or need. One can not survive and be sustainable in the long run if ego and bloating (Vanity) are your drivers as evidenced in the decisions and behavior of Musk and Zuckerberg! You don’t need a public regulation to suggest that Fake News is wrong as much as Fake Food, Fake Medicine or anything else Fake! It comes from a deep spiritual faith, a true belief in the view that “I am my brother’s keeper”! Even an animal or plant can not survive in the long run fending for its own needs without regard for the environment that supports it. In the end the plant or animal species will die or perish. We call this outlook of caring for others while taking care of oneself as “Spirituality in Practice ”. Let us hope such natural order is returning and a balance to self-regulate anything “Fake” in the media, politics, business, public discourse and economic activity. Perhaps one can hope for that as the much needed outcome of the recent midterm elections?
STIMS Institute 