>An innovative, new upshot getting sucked up/ blatantly ripped off by an established player with more muscle, money (and in this case - users) to throw at the problem is not a great incentive for entrepreneurs.
>Consolidation at this level resembles communism more closely than the kind of free market innovation we should be seeing.
An established player pushing out a smaller startup sounds very much like capitalism, not communism. You could maybe argue it is consolidating into a monopoly, but not that it is communism.
'Pushing out' by using superior innovation/market advantages? Or by currying favor with the governments of the world? In effect, creating that monopolistic structure.
FB is very clearly in the latter camp. That is communism.
Communism implies government ownership. Crony capitalism, maybe. They still competed and this time Goliath won; we often forget what makes that story special, that David is not the favorite to win.
>Consolidation at this level resembles communism more closely than the kind of free market innovation we should be seeing.
An established player pushing out a smaller startup sounds very much like capitalism, not communism. You could maybe argue it is consolidating into a monopoly, but not that it is communism.