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The "What is Money?" Show
Bitcoin and Data Monopolies | Bitcoin is Venice Series | Episode 3 (WiM383)
Oct 25, 2023
01:19:36
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Allen Farrington and Sacha Meyers, authors of "Bitcoin is Venice," discuss Facebook and Google's business models, data monopolies, the concept of owning your data, and the potential impact of Bitcoin on the internet. They explore the complexities of data ownership, ethical concerns surrounding surveillance and targeted advertising, and the role of Bitcoin in providing sovereign credentials. The speakers also touch on breaking up tech monopolies, the concept of identity in the online world, and the importance of free software.
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Quick takeaways
- Network businesses like Facebook and Google tend towards monopoly due to zero marginal cost of production, large upfront investments, and the accumulation of user data.
- The notion of 'owning your own data' is often misunderstood as it is technically unfeasible given the non-scarcity and continuous nature of data, but Bitcoin presents an alternative where users have more control over their data and can access services without privacy concerns.
Deep dives
The nature of network businesses and their monopoly tendencies
Network businesses like Facebook and Google tend towards monopoly due to zero marginal cost of production, large upfront investments, and the accumulation of user data. The monopolistic power comes from the aggregation of demand and the continuous redeployment of increasing returns to scale. Breaking up these businesses is not a viable solution as it would inevitably lead to one dominant player emerging again. The incentives for these businesses are governed by their return-seeking capital and the lack of separation between the utility of the service and the means of monetization. Bitcoin's introduction of digital money provides new tools and incentives to rethink the engineering of these network businesses.
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Discover
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