Tim O'Reilly wrote that piracy was a form of progressive taxation, now Jason Calacanis exemplifies that social network fatigue is a similar effect.

The perils of success.

# AIR NZ SECURES $45M CONTRACT
# KIWI HITS US81C

Sooo, the exchange rate is "too high" and exporters are being hurt and outsourcing to cheap labour countries is the go?

Its only one data point but the coincidence seemed worth noticing, silver lining perhaps.

AIA, the scene of the next infrastructural blunder?

Already the shareholder-driven monopoly has announced increases in landing fees for the next five years, the kind of planning you can do when your the only game in town.

Ports, of the air and sea type, are typical infrastructural monopolies and it was with some relief I noted the Tauranga/Auckland ports amalgamation didn't occur. At least with competitive land transport one could ameliorate in the market any attempt at extorting additional monopoly rents. Same I guess in a sense with airports, though passengers are probably less tolerant of the addtional travel than logs.

I agree with Winston, but probably for different reasons. Our infatuation with FDI (Foreign Direct Investment, a euphamism for "borrowing," and something that will be repaid, plus interest, offshore) may be part of the reason for even considering putting yet another critical infrastructure in the hands of overseas owners. Rod Oram can talk about regulation, what a crashing success that has been in the telecommunications market for example. Big infrastructure monopolies can chip in to "think-tanks" like NZISCR, leveraging off the reputation of VUW, to almost monotonically argue that regulation is wrong. I stand to be corrected, if there are papers on the site that advocate regulation (excepting against competitors to incumbents), I'll recant.

It would seem the Air New Zealand and Tranzrail lessons are not completely learned yet, and in a world driven by cheap credit (everywhere but here it would seem) one can pony up a monster stack of cheese to get mice into the trap.

We continue to endure an historic legacy model of telecommunications, based on the age when it was required to be an integrated solution. Like railways, structurally integrated. And when the standards and operations were externalised in open standards the Internet was possible. Like the private automobile and roads, structurally separated. The next analogy, I think will be the ocean, and who should pop up with that one too?

"The Net needs to be an ocean that lifts all boats - including countless businesses. Not a network of canals owned by trench-diggers and container cargo haulers."

Doc Searls

and following on from that

"Requiring Google to bid on spectrum in order to get decent carriage of its bits, is like requiring GM to bid on road construction projects to ensure it cars will be allowed on the highway. It is a sad commentary on how badly policy makers in Washington have lost sight of the fundamental principles of open communications."

Mark Cooper, Research Director of Consumer Federation of America, by private correspondence today, reprinted by his permission.

The road analogy is gaining traction, the idea that the collective is best positioned to build and operate a competitive platform that has the lowest possible barriers to entry. We don't want the State to operate services, just make the roads impartial and let competition flourish.

(Thanks for the encouragement, "post more stuff. I'm getting sick of reading this one.")