[kictanet] The Case Against Google and other Tech Titans

Mon Feb 26 18:34:38 EAT 2018

True that Barrack.

We must commend Safaricom for this while at the same time continue to engage them positively.

Ali Hussein
Hussein & Associates
+254 0713 601113 

Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
Blog: www.alyhussein.com

"Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought".  ~ Albert Szent-Györgyi

Sent from my iPad

> On 26 Feb 2018, at 2:13 PM, Barrack Otieno via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
> 
> Hi Ali,
> 
> I also think one of the reasons Safaricom enjoys its position is its
> willingness to engage despite the criticism it receives, in as much as
> we feel sorry for the other operators they hardly engage with
> stakeholders. In short Safaricom seems to have public interest at the
> core of its strategy which might not be the case with other local
> Telcos or tech giants.
> 
> Best Regards
> 
>> On 2/26/18, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>> Listers
>> 
>> Here’s an interesting long read on the implications of Technology enabled
>> Monopolies.
>> 
>> The argument for and against the thesis that only market forces can check
>> the monopolistic behaviors of the Tech Giants is well articulated in this NY
>> Times article.
>> 
>> The argument goes like:-
>> 
>> A combination of Activists (Listers, I hope you are listening and reading
>> 😀), Anti-Trust Busters, Competitors and the cautious actions of so called
>> Monopolists when the spotlight hits them, is largely responsible for
>> ensuring that consumers and the markets operate honestly, responsibly and
>> with the profit motive in mind.
>> 
>> Couldn’t help me thinking whether this combination is partly responsible for
>> the New Safaricom we are seeing today.  A company that is arguably larger
>> than life in Kenya and who in the recent past has been accused of the same
>> behaviors that the Tech Giants are allegedly guilty of.
>> 
>> Safaricom is definitely a better company than it was just a few years
>> before. They have embraced the ecosystem, released M-Pesa APIs on Github
>> (Yes!), funds startups in the Tech Ecosystem through its Spark Fund and is
>> generally easier to work with.
>> 
>> Here’s an excerpt to the story:-
>> 
>> The implication is clear enough: Google and the other tech titans understand
>> that the landscape is shifting. They realize that their halos have become
>> tarnished, that the arguments they once invoked as a digital exception to
>> American economic history — that the internet economy is uniquely
>> self-correcting, because competition is only a click away — no longer hold
>> as much weight. “When you get as big as Google, you become so powerful that
>> the market bends around you,” ...
>> 
>> Read on:-
>> 
>> https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/20/magazine/the-case-against-google.html
>> 
>> @Walu, we can meet half way on our arguments on this issue. :-)
>> 
>> Regards
>> 
>> Ali Hussein
>> Principal
>> Hussein & Associates
>> +254 0713 601113
>> 
>> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>> Skype: abu-jomo
>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>> 
>> "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a
>> habit."  ~ Aristotle
>> 
>> 
>> Sent from my iPad
> 
> 
> -- 
> Barrack O. Otieno
> +254721325277
> +254733206359
> Skype: barrack.otieno
> PGP ID: 0x2611D86A
> 
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