The problem with high-tech co-operatives of course is exactly the problem that has always stalked the Open Source community itself – in practice resources aren’t allocated by its users, but merely by a bunch of high priests, replacing autocracy with oligopoly. What’s so great about that (unless Mr Smaleri hopes to be one of the few)?

Indeed, resources cannot practically be allocated by the users. The hypothetical charity example shows how social media give people the illusion of power without responsibility – just ten similar suggestions would bring the business to its knees. When I was in business I got a dozen suggestions a week about what I was doing wrong – most of them mutually incompatible, many dangerous, but any of which, in the scenario Mr Smaleri gives would easily attract millions of votes. (My response was always “become and OEM and take the risk yourself” – that always stopped the conversation dead in its tracks!)

Of course, Mr Zuckerberg will, if he is a good businessman, be guided by the best ideas of his customers – the advertisers – but not by random crowd movements in his audience, who are not his customers.

rontflmao~~~