Is internet shopping like The Truman Show–a movie about a man who thinks himself free, but whose life is actually controlled by a TV producer? Are we online consumers like Truman Burbank, hopelessly and blissfully naive while titanic companies control our fate? Are the prices we pay online a function of a competitive market, or are our choices framed in ways we don’t quite fathom? These provocative questions are posed in a fascinating book about how platform internet companies (Amazon, Facebook, and so on) are changing the norms of economic competition. Virtual Competition: The Promise and Perils of the Algorithm-Driven Economy argues that these companies, with their immense data advantage, are effectively making their own rules in the marketplace, beating back new market entrants, and disadvantaging customers. As the internet took off in the 1990s, it was said, by some dreamy-eyed commentators, to be a giant-killing, democratic medium–a sort of anti-Walmart. You could start a business from your bedroom. You could win a $100 million in venture capital while still in your bathrobe. The internet was to emancipate commerce and to embody Adam Smith’s “invisible hand”–the beneficial, and mutual, economic effect that comes from people acting aggressively in their own self-interest. “We have no idea about how, and the extent to which, we are being exploited.” [Photo: © 1998 Paramount Pictures/IMDB]In Virtual Competition, economists Ariel Ezrachi and Maurice Stucke document the... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2017-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
Ballanco, senior VP and chief information officer at Hachette Book Group, will retire on September 27, with Brendan Goss, currently CIO of Hachette UK, to assume the newly created role of group CIO of HBG and HUK. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-07-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Reisman has returned as CEO of Indigo Books & Music, not long after CEO Peter Ruis resigned and Reisman officially retired. Newly elected board member Markus Dohle has taken the role of company chair. The company is also preparing to open a new concept store in Toronto. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Is internet shopping like The Truman Show–a movie about a man who thinks himself free, but whose life is actually controlled by a TV producer? Are we online consumers like Truman Burbank, hopelessly and blissfully naive while titanic companies control our fate? Are the prices we pay online a... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2017-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Barnes & Noble's first concept store, originally slated to open in October in Eastchester, N.Y., opened on Tuesday morning. The official grand opening is set for December 2. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
After several changes on when its new concept store in Eastchester, N.Y. will open, Barnes & Noble has now set November 22 as the new date. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Ralph Nader is trying his hand at bookselling; B&N is prepping its next concept store in Texas; a Boise bookstore is celebrating its 10th birthday; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Indigo unveils its first concept store in Toronto; an indie author preps his store opening in Texas; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
This week I asked Sarah Sleath about he dual role as both production and editorial assistant and publicity and marketing assistant at both Swales and Willis and Impress Books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this