Google, Amazon, and McDonalds.

[Jackie97]

Lots of progressives insult the idea of eating at McDonalds because it's globalization. I understand that.

However, we use Google like crazy. Too many people are using it, and Google is becoming very powerful on the world wide web as a result.

Many people are also resorting the mainstream areas online to buy books, such as Amazon.com.

Why do we use Google and Amazon so much if we're against globalization? It's because Google is the most effective search engine right now. They also give us access to news, images, groups, and gmail (with a heck of a lot of space in the inbox). Amazon is the most well known area to search for books. Why are we doing this stuff while insulting McDonalds and other globalized restaurants?

Why do people eat at McDonalds? It's because the food is cheap and easy to get. Ditto for other fast food restaurants that are killing us with their grease.

We're so worried about American cultural domination from McDonalds, but not from our main internet areas? Why?

Both are efficient for serving needs. However, we don't want either one becoming the main forms of business in the world because we first don't want them having domination in the world's cultures, what information we get, what food we eat, etc. We also don't want them deciding to run their business in any crappy way they want to and treating customers as badly as they want to. This could happen because they would know they're the only ones around (or almost the only ones around) thanks to putting others out of business (mostly smaller businesses and search engines).

However, we all use these because it's efficient. If we want to stop the globalization, we have to come up with an answer about the convenience of using these because people will continue to use what's more convenient. Is there a way to make smaller businesses or search engines more efficient so we can have more variety? Simply protesting places like McDonalds isn't going to stop globalization. We have to do something else.

Don't believe Google or any other search engine over the net could get too powerful? Well, somebody came up with a picture of what the future could be like. Tell me what you think. I think the person who created this is full of crap on some things, but not on some of it.

www.lightover.com/epic

[AP]

1. If McDonalds weren't so bad for you, I'm not sure I'd have a problem...

...with it. I don't think I'd have a problem if the minimum wage were a lot higher too and McDonalds paid it.

As for google and Amazon, you're not going to hear me criticize people reading books and looking up information.

If google started to manipulate the information people could access or if Amazon were bought by the publishers or a cable company and started to restrict the books that were available (ie, the equivalent of McD's -- they started doing bad things to consumers), then I'd complain.

I don' think I have a problem with big companies, so long as they're paying their taxes, providing decent jogs, and not doing things that UNFAIRLY hurt their competition or hurt consumers.

[Democrat Dragon]

2. I don't eat at McDonalds for various reasons

1. They support the Rethuglinazis

2. They are anti-Union

3. Most of the food is drenched in saturated fat

4. I just read Fast Food Nation.

[Jackie97]

4. I just read Fast Food Nation too.

What makes you so sure the other globalized companies aren't doing bad stuff? Has anybody looked into it?

[Democrat Dragon]

5. Hey

I don't shop at Wal*Mart or eat at Taco Bell either.

[AP]

3. Time for a Lakoffian analysis: The RW frame for this issue is that

Democrats hate success and hate large businesses and hate capitalism.

But, really, what are the relevant democratic values here?

Democrats like industriousness, like good jobs, and like fair competition which provides consumers with BETTER products and services. Democrats don't like monopolies because they're bad for the economy and for consumers and for competitors who want to compete fairly. Democrats don't like companies which mislead consumers about their products. Democrats like consumers to have the best information and to have a choice about what and when they consume. Democrats like options.

I think Democrats need to reply to the OP AFTER deciding what their values are and whether they make sense.

[earth mom]

6. Very interesting

We're already getting filtered, skewed, biased news from the MSM, so it's no surprise that the net is the next target; actually I think it's already in the works. Most search engines are skewed and biased more and more these days which I've discovered on my own over time. Now, I'm usually leary of most information I uncover and usually try and verify it, which isn't alway easy. It worries me that new users of the internet may not know that search results can be as skewed as they are. The scenario presented is a very real possibility, and we need to figure out what can be done to combat it before it's too late.

[fob]

7. Stopped using google, replaced it with dogpile.com try it, it doesn't

use the first 20 hits to show you places you can BUY whatever you searched for.

As for Amazon, I've never used that either, though not for any "it's a big, evil, mega-corp reasons, I just visit my local bookstore.