????結(jié)果,，媒體公司越變?cè)叫。皇窃阶冊(cè)酱?。?lái)看幾個(gè)例子：Cox Enterprise在2008年出售了旗下幾家報(bào)紙,；時(shí)代華納（Time Warner）在2009年甩掉了美國(guó)在線（AOL），并打算甩掉《財(cái)富》所在的時(shí)代集團(tuán)（Time Inc.）等等,。有趣的是,，正如多年前專家認(rèn)為大型媒體將會(huì)威脅到民主一樣，梅勒擔(dān)心新聞縮短成140字的微博之后,，同樣將導(dǎo)致類似的結(jié)果,。

????梅勒強(qiáng)調(diào)大型公司的結(jié)局時(shí)，他的理論似乎不那么讓人信服,，甚至有點(diǎn)杞人憂天,。正如大型新聞媒體和政府的終結(jié)會(huì)導(dǎo)致責(zé)任上的嚴(yán)重差距，大型公司的終結(jié)也會(huì)產(chǎn)生類似問(wèn)題：“就這點(diǎn)而言,，我們甚至可能倒退回19世紀(jì),，任何庸醫(yī)都能發(fā)布不符合事實(shí)的廣告，而你無(wú)從得知究竟拿到了藥物還是小蘇打,。”

????因特網(wǎng)確實(shí)打垮了一些美國(guó)的大型零售商,?？纯创笮瓦B鎖商店，比如巴諾（Barnes & Noble）在與亞馬遜（Amazon）這類公司的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)中舉步維艱,，關(guān)閉了數(shù)百家門店,。此外,，Etsy和Quirky這樣的公司也開始在零售市場(chǎng)招兵買馬。

????梅勒表示,，盡管小型公司變得更有競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力,，但并非所有的大型公司都在變小。實(shí)際上,，最大型公司的現(xiàn)金量多年來(lái)一直連創(chuàng)新高,。

????此外，華爾街也沒(méi)有收縮陣地,。奧巴馬三年前曾經(jīng)承諾消除金融機(jī)構(gòu)因?yàn)檫^(guò)于龐大而無(wú)法倒閉的風(fēng)險(xiǎn),，而如今國(guó)內(nèi)最大的幾家銀行卻比金融危機(jī)前變得更加強(qiáng)大。正如批評(píng)人士所說(shuō),，這些機(jī)構(gòu)的規(guī)模對(duì)全球金融系統(tǒng)的安全造成了很大的威脅,。

????盡管如此，“大”時(shí)代的終結(jié)正在影響我們生活的方方面面,。梅勒讓我們認(rèn)真思考如今我們生活在一個(gè)怎樣的世界,，以及更重要的是，我們明天的生活會(huì)變成什么樣,。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：嚴(yán)匡正

????As it turns out, media companies are getting smaller, not bigger. A few examples: Cox Enterprise's move in 2008 to sell off several of its newspapers throughout the chain, AOL's (AOL) spinofffrom Time Warner (TWX) in 2009, Time Warner's planned spinoff of Fortune parent Time Inc., and so on. Interestingly enough, just as experts years ago thought big media would threaten democracy, Mele fears a similar outcome as news shrinks to, say, a 140-character tweet.

????Where Mele's argument seems less convincing -- even a bit alarmist -- is when he highlights the end of big companies. Just as the end of big journalism and government could lead to a serious accountability gap, the same problem could arise with the end of big business: "In this respect, we might even return to the 19th century, when any quack could make bizarre advertising claims, and you had no way of knowing if you were getting medicine or baking soda."

????It's true the Internet has disrupted some of America's biggest retailers. Take a look at big-box chains such as Barnes & Noble (BKS), which has closed hundreds of stores as it struggles to compete with the likes of Amazon (AMZN). What's more, companies like Etsy and Quirky have empowered entrepreneurs in the retail space.

????While small companies may be getting more competitive, Mele acknowledges not all big companies are getting smaller. In fact, the biggest ones have been sitting on record levels of cash for years.

????What's more, Wall Street isn't getting smaller, either. Three years after President Obama vowed to eliminate the danger of financial institutions that are too big to fail, the nation's largest banks are bigger than they were prior to the financial meltdown. As critics argue, the scale of these institutions poses an enormous threat to the security of the global financial system.

????Nonetheless, the end of big is hitting many aspects of our lives. And Mele makes us seriously think about the world we live in today and, more importantly, how we'd like to live in it tomorrow.