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If you really want to be depressed. We don't even benefit from the shaky economy you described. The technology is developed largely by foreigners. The best and the brightest from around the world come to the US and get great jobs. Foreigners dominate our PhD programs in the stem fields. Americans--and definitely Black people--are stuck out in the cold. One reason is that our education system is too shitty to produce people with the ability to actually enter these high tech fields. Black folks run around talking about having the "power" we have on Twitter because we dominate the sharing of nonsense, meanwhile we are too dumb to even work for Twitter and collect a paycheck! So when folks from India and China, get a clue and go back to their countries the U.S. is screwed. Trump wants to close the borders, he better consider what that means because we will don't have the intellectual capital to run the country let alone develop technology. We've too busy playing Pokemon Go. Oh, it is too early to get me started this morning

The stock is based on information. The products that they've purchased, are purchases and not assets. The items purchased by the companies are often other internet companies that only have value if the people continue to supply information. That is a very shaky platform. It's not like a car company that struggles and can liquidate assets. These companies are often made up of 10-20 people and there isn't a tangible product that can actually be packaged and sold. I say all of this to state that you're right about power and influence. It's controlled by the people and the people are the product. Social allows the people to be self -indulgent and the positive reinforcement of a like keeps them on the product providing search habits and desires which are then monetized. It diminishes the reach of other platforms that don't have the ability to aggregate data and it hurts the economy because there is nothing really to trade and sell. The primary point of capitalism and marketing is a tangible product. The US barely makes any tangible products. Social represents this country perfectly.

Yeah if the valuation drops and the stock price tanks--it is a wrap for the companies. But all the major players, have already extracted an incredible amount of wealth, they and their descendants are set for life--even if the companies go bankrupt tomorrow. Everything from here on out is gravy. I have not researched these companies, but they probably own tons of real estate, physical assets, boatloads of cash, and no debt. Plus they have all of our data. The amount of information they have on us is mind blowing; it may be their most valuable asset. I would not say they have zero value.

"... their real power is in building up platforms that aren't a part of the machine." True dat. You know I have a good buddy who I have conversations with like this every so often. During the last conversation he said, "If I agreed with you I'd be out of a job." He is a social media manager for a not-for-profit.

Google+ seems to be a complete failure as a social media network. It simply never caught on. Everyone says, "Friend me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter." But no one ever mentions Google+. People frequently use the Facebook and Twitter Icons, but they rarely use the Google+ icon. Those two things did more to elevate both of those platforms than anything else. Google+ is probably a better service, but it is Facebook's world and hype trumps technology.

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LOL! touche... I do get what you're saying but playing devil's advocate creates a good discussion. No one will take the time to create a Black social network because no one is in the slightest interested in working that hard to educate the consumer. That really is the bottom line. Now, in regard to the lack of interaction with your post, I've learned that people who are in "power" positions never respond to those who could potentially pull away from their audience. Your ability to move people to your platform is a threat to them because they honestly don't realize their real power is in building up platforms that aren't a part of the machine. I've noticed people like the women in the video and men in comparable positions try at all cost to keep the lid on anyone who might be better at what they do (Know what I mean?) I've experienced this myself. It's a frustrating thing to deal with.

I get what you're saying and while on the surface it seems simple that because they don't own it they don't have "real" power; you forget that the moment Black women remove their voice from Twitter it becomes an almost all white platform with the reach to 100 million people. I've always said that empowerment happens on many branches and it has to happen where we are and where we aren't. Some people march, some people raise their kids, these are both acts of empowerment of the group. Black women on Twitter bring balance, or attempt to, when other voices are speaking against Blacks. Now the obvious argument is that you don't have to bring balance if you aren't there in the first place because you wouldn't even know about the things that happen... but isn't that a bit naive and simple? If Black women build their own Black twitter and it becomes haven where Blacks debate and discuss issues, it becomes like this message board. Like minded people share and build and more than likely those people are already conscious and they still don't reach the people who aren't interested. Does it empower them? Yes. Does it create the opportunity to expand and reach other cultures? Probably, but the idea that they aren't powerful because they don't own the platform is almost laughable. By this analysis no one will ever be powerful because no one is really self sufficient. We all work in the constructs of society. Troy AALBC exists because some hosting service grants you space. You own it, but you aren't powerful by your own definition because at any time that hosting service can get rid of you. Now if you owned your fiber optics and ran Cat5 wires for Ethernet and bought your server you will still be buying data from somewhere. There is always someone above you. I get what you both are saying, but Issa and Awesome both have reached more people than they would have every been able to reach in their lives. That's powerful. Is it ownership? It is. Do I like the fact that we have to use other platforms to raise awareness about what we do? No. I hate it. It sucks and it is frustrating, but in order to establish something you have to be where the people are because the people simply aren't educated enough to be where they can do the most good. I built an entire video series on what this topic is basically about.

Troy said: because power comes from ownership, and Black women don't own Twitter 'nuff said. End of conversation.

I'm always intrigued by the "power" that people have. This power creates opportunities for the individual and this is good for that person who has the ability to parlay the traffic and interest they have in their brand. It's definitely a market owned and dominated by Black women. This market is what created the hair care products like Cara B and Miss Jessie so Troy they are really powerful. Curly Nikki was able to parlay her social media presence into a best selling book and multiple opportunities for sponsorships. I don't think ownership of Twitter is the power play. I get that you are saying they aren't powerful, but I don't agree. Black women actually grow their presence online like no other group in the country. That makes them amazing and powerful. Now if they were able to launch their own Twitter I actually think they could build it, but like many issues with us, we simply don't place the creation of the technology in the forefront. But Black women are definitely powerful.