QotD: "All of these companies provide tons of free services. I’ve never paid a dime to Google, Facebook, or Twitter. Even Amazon hands out tons of freebies. Given all this, you might expect these giants of the internet age to be popular, admired, even loved. Instead, they’re drowning in resentment."

"[These] IT giants are household names. They haven’t just transformed their own industries; they’ve transformed life itself. When I crave knowledge, I Google. When I seek consumer products, I Amazon. When I socialise, I Facebook. When I market my ideas, I Twitter. Hundreds of millions of customers around the world can say the same. If you’d described my future back in 1993, I would have laughed at your optimism… and I’m a confirmed optimist! 

    "What would have seemed most absurd to me back in 1993, however, is that all of these companies provide tons of free services. I’ve never paid a dime to Google, Facebook, or Twitter. Even Amazon hands out tons of freebies...    "Given all this, you might expect these giants of the internet age to be popular, admired, even loved. Instead, they’re drowning in resentment. How often does a pundit or politician give a speech thanking them for their astounding work? Virtually never. Instead, we live in a world where pundits bemoan the marketleaders‘ alleged failures – and politicians casually threaten to regulate them – or even treat them like public utilities.  

  "You could remind me that, 'Actions speak louder than words.' People who contently use Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon far outnumber the complainers. This is a fine observation – if you want expose the pettiness and myopia of the critics. 'If company X is so bad, why do they have hundreds of millions of repeat customers?' is not a decisive response to complaints, but it is a mighty response nonetheless.    "So who cares what the naysayers say? Sadly, every satisfied customer of these great companies should care, because in politics, words speak louder than actions. Pundits and politicians seek fame and power by saying and doing what sounds good, even when the consequences are awful." 

~ Bryan Caplan, from his post 'A World of Ingratitude'
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