The Internet, Sockpuppets, and the Broken Tail

Why is the Internet like Zimbabwe ... a country where 12 million people survive in a turbulent, informal market, dominated by wealthy dictators, with 11 million percent inflation, and no rule of law?

Because the Internet is just as perversely unequal and unstable; with 1 billion people online, spending per capita is only 33 cents per day and the top 100 businesses accrue more than half of that; reputations to mitigate trade risk are earned in walled-gardens, like Amazon or eBay, and much activity is designed to game the system in order to earn a reputation above and beyond a person’s worth.

Download the introductory report here.