Attention Economy Is a Malthusian Trap
Tech companies are valued based on future potential and as future becomes present, that potential is replaced by a reality that is often much less grand.<p>Netflix is a great example. It went from having a large library because the producers were its friends, to entering production itself, and alienating its former partners. Now, they have to offset investment into production with higher subscription fees which in turn reduces future potential. Netflix in 2015 is significantly more disruptive than that of 2019, which is just another HBO, and increasingly will be valued like HBO (Time Warner).<p>"Tech" here is actually just infrastructure; it's table stakes and not interesting at all.