You are a lot more valuable to Big Tech then you realize.
70% of the value created by Big Tech over the past 23 years has come from the “Network Effect”. Much of that value creation is driven by you and requires your ongoing participation and engagement. What you might not realize is, that value you bring to the network is a lot more then a matter of division, in fact you have an out sized effect.
1+1 does not equal 2
The network effect is best understood if you think of a telephone company. If you were the only person in the world to have a telephone, it would not be worth anything because you could not call anybody. If another person gets a phone, all of a sudden the telephone network has value because you can make one connection and call one other person.
But if another 4 people buy a phone (5 in total) the number of possible connections on the network has not just increased by 4, it has increased by 8 because each person can call 4 other people the total number of possible connections has increased much more then the number of phones added. They telephone network becomes disproportionately more valuable.
This effect is called Metcalfes law and it is named after an early internet pioneer. Metcalfes law says the value of a network increases in proportion to the number of nodes squared or number of telephones squared in this example.
So even though the 10th node is only 10% of the total number of nodes (1 divided by 10), it represents 19% of the value (100 minus 81). Every node added to the network adds a bigger percentage of the value to the network then it represents. So it is worth about twice as much as its makeup of the network.
This effect continues as you add more nodes. So node #100 is 1% (1 divided by 100) of the total number of nodes, but 1.99% of the value (10,000–9,801). Again it is worth about twice as much as its makeup of the network.
This formula continues for a million nodes, to 100 million nodes, etc. Each additional user is adding a disproportionate amount of value.
And this Network Effect has created 70% of the value created by Big Tech over the past 23 years.
What goes up, must come down
As the old saying goes, what goes up, must come down. So if Big Tech mistreats their users so badly, users start to leave their network — the impact of each user lost on the value to Big Tech is disproportionately larger for every user they lose. Just as us users drove up the value of Big Tech by flocking to their products and services, we can pull the rug out from underneath them as well.
But wait, the Network Effect is even bigger then Metcalfe thought
It turns out that networks that allow sub-groups or clusters of users for engage increase in value at an even faster rate. This is called Reed’s Law. Think about family groups or special interest groups etc that form on larger networks. This increases the number of combinations even more then just the number of nodes alone.
Battered Wife Syndrome
“Battered woman syndrome (BWS) is dangerous primarily because it can lead to what some scholars say is “learned helplessness” — or psychological paralysis — where the victim becomes so depressed, defeated, and passive that she believes she is incapable of leaving her abuser. . . She becomes convinced of her helplessness and that the abuse cannot be escaped”
Today many of us (nodes in the Big Tech networks) are in shell shock at the way we have been abused:
- We have had our personal data exploited by Big Tech in ways that were not made clear to us
- We have been censored if we say things Big Tech do not like
- They have brainwashed us into voting for one party over another
- They have incited many to riot
- They have denied us access to apps, websites, and information sources they do not approve of, etc.
What is worse, we have come to believe these Big Tech companies are all powerful and we could never escape their grasp. What difference could any one of us make to the might of Facebook, Google, Twitter, Amazon, Microsoft, etc. Big Tech have convinced too many of is that we are powerless and just have to put up with whatever abuse they dish out.
We have become the digital equivalents of battered wives and Big Tech is our abuser.
You have more power then you think
Big Tech put up a brave face telling you that you do not matter, that it will make no difference if you use their service or not. But nothing could be further from the truth. 70% of the value created by Big Tech came from adding users like you to their networks and that value can disappear just as fast if users like us stop using their services.
Remember the impact of each user leaving their network carries almost twice the effect because we are unwinding the Network effect. So:
- Choose a different Social Network. There are a lot out there to choose from and I will have more to say about this in the coming weeks
- Stop uploading your contact lists to Big Tech, so they cannot map out your entire life as easily.
- Turn off location tracking when you do not need it.
- Bring your email and files back home — get them out of the cloud and back into your control so Big Tech cannot data mine them or use them to hold you ransom.
- Swap out you iPhone or Google phone for a Linux or de-Googled phone that will protect your privacy and data
- Start using a VPN or TOR so Big Tech cannot use your location to monetize your personal data
- Switch the operating system on your computer over to Linux — it is easier then you would think.
- Buy your goods and services locally instead of online from Amazon
- Use cash instead of credit/debit cards so your purchase history cannot be sold to the highest bidder
Now you know how powerful you are, all you have to do is take action. You do not have to change everything all at once, just be determined and do it step by step as you can. If your daughter was being abused by her husband, what would you say? Make a plan, get the pieces in place and get out. You certainly would not say do nothing and just put up with the abuse.
Big Tech keep abusing you because they do not think you will ever leave them. They think the Network Effect is so powerful you are their prisoner (they call their prisons ecosystems) and you will never escape.
And remember Reed’s Law — take for friends and family with you. For example use a non-BigTech messaging app with you family, organize your events on a non-BigTech network, etc. Step by step you can make a difference.
Know they enemy
I want to leave you with a couple of videos that explain the Network Effect and its different forms. Remember these are produced from the point of view of your would be captors. Study them, pick out the weaknesses, plan your escape and then take action.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure
Writer and family members do not hold any financial interest in the businesses manufacturing, developing, and/or selling any of the products or services mentioned in this article. Nor are we compensated in any way e.g. commission or affiliate program if you decide to purchase these products or services.
