They put on weight fast and flex their muscles and try to scare competitors off the beach. Something was forgotten in the process. Sure, it's cool to make so much money. And sure, it's cool to be able to buy hair dye and condoms from the privacy of home. But what keeps Amazon's cultural currency afloat is selling books.
Books inspire passion.
The online superstores aren't creating new markets, and though they might evolve the technology of ecommerce, they're not revolutionizing it. They're just big web sites. I saw this with my friends at places like Yahoo in the spring. They might as well be writing classified ads for the suburban weekly. In its uninspiring, placid texture, the Valley offers its workers a sustained level of non-distraction, ensuring that work remains the most interesting and compelling activity in one's viewframe of enticements.