The trend for markets to become dominated by irreversible giant monopolies has been documented for a century or two now, so this process is hardly new. Perhaps there's nothing intrinsically different about internet technology which is going to somehow protect it from the greater influences of ownership and control in society. But that isn't a forgone conclusion for me. I suspect that the network infrastructure itself is a progressive thing, but that the superstructure which is built on top of the network, by such as google, is subject to the normal laws of prevalent economic and social relations.

So having said "We can't afford for one company (or any algorithm) to organise information for the world." what do you propose we do about it?

More anti-trust laws?

Intervention to try and reverse market forces in order to preserve the illusion of a healthy market?

Siezure of the means of production and distribution of information as a commodity, to be reorganised under international democratic workers' control and management?
(Well you did mention Trotsky...)

Back to the primacy of the network, I suspect that if services such as Google begin to become not useful to the network, then the network will innovate once more and pretty rapidly come up with alternatives to reliance on Google.

Duopolies are even worse since they provide the illusion of choice. With Pravda, at least you could be easily aware that it IS a monopoly.
Having said that, I'm still surprized to see that people often feel uncomfortable with uncertainty (which I understand) and prefer ANY authority over sustained un-decision (another kind of decision) or over conscious multiple perspectives.

I was being ironic Andy - it does not suprise me that consolidation is happening. I was having a punt at people who said Web 2.0 etc would be different.

I am not sure what to do - but neither am I sure what to do about the indifference of the US government to global warming, and my capacity to execute if I did would be limited. I do however think it is wrong and I want my voice - and hopefully others to be raised in process.

There are(thank god) no fully free markets. I do think we need to rethink monopoly legistation however.

Convenience is addictive. People are willing to give up freedoms for ease, so long as it happens gradually...

I wonder: not too long ago people were saying that Microsoft would dominate the Internet. Then in a matter of years Google has arisen to challenge not just Microsoft, but Yahoo and others. I don't think it's certain that new companies will rise up and challenge Google in turn, but as policymakers how can we keep those options open?