The advent of personal computers in the 1980s saw the emergence of two new big tech companies: Apple and Microsoft. Between them, they control close to 95% of all computer and laptop OS in the world by 2024.
Then came the internet revolution of the 2000s, which gave rise to Google albania whatsapp number data 5 million and Amazon. Then came the wave of social media with the birth of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and more.
As we can see, the emergence of Big Tech companies coincides with major technological innovations. However, it is not always the case that the first to develop a new industry ends up capturing a significant share of the market. Google was not the first search engine, nor did Microsoft offer the first operating system.
However, they offered a better product than their competitors. And in doing so, they were able to benefit from something called “network externalities.”
In economics, “network externalities” refer to a product that gains value the more people use it. There’s a reason most of your friends use Strava for their running stats, or go to X to share their opinions. If most people use a specific platform, it makes sense that you’re there too. This phenomenon is especially pronounced with social media platforms and tech products in general.
This means that once a company reaches a critical mass of users, it becomes very difficult for a competitor to enter that market and convince users to go elsewhere.
When we talk about Big Tech, it’s often easy to forget how “Big” they really are. Big Tech is only 5 or 6 companies at most, they can’t be that big… right? Well, here’s a quick rundown of some of the products and services controlled by 3 of the largest Big Tech companies.
