The web has been the great democratiser of software development. If you have a good idea and the capability to develop it, then you can compete on the world stage. Or has that time now passed? The leading web service sites are all so far ahead that it seems unlikely that anyone can compete with them, even if they have technically superior offerings.

There is one leading search engine: Google; one retailer: Amazon; one classifieds site: Craigslist; one auction site: eBay; one music store: iTunes and probably another three or four examples I’ve forgotten. I am exaggerating a bit but not by much: take away any of the other sites that compete with the above list and very few people would notice unless they had a vested interest.