--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He asks, “how hard would it be to go a…" description: "\"“He asks, “how hard would it be to go a week without Google? Or, to up the ante, without Facebook, Amazon, Skype, Twitter, Apple, eBay, and Google?”33 ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/jeremy-rifkin-6615_internet_he-asks-how-hard-would-it-be-to-go-a-wee_2589405.jpg" --- # He asks, “how hard would it be to go a week without… ![“He asks, “how hard would it be to go a week without Google? Or, to up the ante, without Facebook, Amazon, Skype, Twitter, Apple, eBay, and Google?”33 Wu is putting his finger on a disquieting new reality—that the new communication medium a younger generation gravitated to because of its promise of…” quote by Jeremy Rifkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/jeremy-rifkin-6615_internet_he-asks-how-hard-would-it-be-to-go-a-wee_2589405.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/jeremy-rifkin-6615_internet_he-asks-how-hard-would-it-be-to-go-a-wee_2589405.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/jeremy-rifkin-6615_internet_he-asks-how-hard-would-it-be-to-go-a-wee_2589405.jpg) > ““He asks, “how hard would it be to go a week without Google? Or, to up the ante, without Facebook, Amazon, Skype, Twitter, Apple, eBay, and Google?”33 Wu is putting his finger on a disquieting new reality—that the new communication medium a younger generation gravitated to because of its promise of openness, transparency, and deep social collaboration masks another persona more concerned with ringing up profit by advancing a networked Commons.”” [Jeremy Rifkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-rifkin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Over‑reliance on major tech platforms creates a hidden profit‑driven network that undermines openness and collaboration. **In simple terms:** Tech giants dominate communication, turning openness into profit. Key Takeaway Seek alternatives and protect digital commons. Themes technology economics privacy Mood critical concerned Type analysis philosophical When to use this quote - social media usage - online collaboration - policy making - education curricula Key Concepts platform capitalism digital commons network effects Questions to Reflect On - What would a profit‑free digital commons look like? - How can individuals reduce platform dependence? A Different Perspective Alternative platforms may lack reach; transition challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advancing Networked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advancing-networked-1846410/) [Communication Medium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication-medium-1846413/) [Deep Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deep-social-1846411/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [New Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-communication-1846409/) [Openness Transparency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/openness-transparency-1846412/) ## Related quotes > [With the communication internet, whole industries have been disrupted. You're in the publishing industry, you understand that. 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Those agencies never did come through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-rifkin/here-we-are-17-years-later-those-agencies-never-did-come-through/) [Jeremy Rifkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-rifkin/) > [“raises an interesting question about the new corporate giants that are colonizing large swaths of virtual space. 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Nobody knows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-rifkin/many-of-the-genetically-modified-foods-will-be-safe-i-m-sure-will/) [Jeremy Rifkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-rifkin/) > [What type of new economical system can organize this system? There is another sector in our life, that we rely on every single day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-rifkin/what-type-of-new-economical-system-can-organize-this-system-there-is/) [Jeremy Rifkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-rifkin/) [Explore all 98 Jeremy Rifkin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-rifkin/) ## More Internet quotes > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [I enjoy upsetting the right people. I love poking fun at earnest censors. I want to push the bounds of what can be said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/i-enjoy-upsetting-the-right-people-i-love-poking-fun-at-earnest/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [Though 'Fat City' was written long before cellphones or the Internet, its human apparatus is state of the art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/though-fat-city-was-written-long-before-cellphones-or-the-internet/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [Note to self: If you do not know how to spell a big scary spiders name, DO NOT look it up on the internet.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-eisele/note-to-self-if-you-do-not-know-how-to-spell-a-big-scary-spiders-name/) [Becky Eisele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-eisele/) > [I remembered reading about a disease called Leishmaniasis, which matched my symptoms. I'd always thought it was an old wives' tale - a sand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fogle/i-remembered-reading-about-a-disease-called-leishmaniasis-which/) [Ben Fogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fogle/) > [The Internet lets thousands of total strangers collaborate to produce a truly hivelike result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/the-internet-lets-thousands-of-total-strangers-collaborate-to-produce/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [People are reading more and writing more because of the internet. So the virtual world is a way for me to listen to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-are-reading-more-and-writing-more-because-of-the-internet-so/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I don't have faith in the Internet, I have faith in people connected through the Internet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gilliam/i-don-t-have-faith-in-the-internet-i-have-faith-in-people-connected/) [Jim Gilliam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gilliam/) > [The internet is very democratizing in some ways, but it also has other effects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/the-internet-is-very-democratizing-in-some-ways-but-it-also-has-other/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [One of the Internet's highest-profile companies, Priceline once dreamed of transforming the way consumer goods are bought and sold by offering customers the chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/one-of-the-internet-s-highest-profile-companies-priceline-once/) [Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/) > [Use Google Before Asking A Stupid Question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muskaan/use-google-before-asking-a-stupid-question/) [Muskaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muskaan/) > [“Some innovations just don’t attract enough economic or social demand: just as supersonic flight and manned space flight stagnated after the 1970s, today (in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-j-rees/some-innovations-just-don-t-attract-enough-economic-or-social-demand/) [Martin J. 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