????結果，媒體公司越變越小，而不是越變越大。來看幾個例子：Cox Enterprise在2008年出售了旗下幾家報紙；時代華納（Time Warner）在2009年甩掉了美國在線（AOL），并打算甩掉《財富》所在的時代集團（Time Inc.）等等。有趣的是，正如多年前專家認為大型媒體將會威脅到民主一樣，梅勒擔心新聞縮短成140字的微博之后，同樣將導致類似的結果。

????梅勒強調大型公司的結局時，他的理論似乎不那么讓人信服，甚至有點杞人憂天。正如大型新聞媒體和政府的終結會導致責任上的嚴重差距，大型公司的終結也會產生類似問題：“就這點而言，我們甚至可能倒退回19世紀，任何庸醫都能發布不符合事實的廣告，而你無從得知究竟拿到了藥物還是小蘇打。”

????因特網確實打垮了一些美國的大型零售商。看看大型連鎖商店，比如巴諾（Barnes & Noble）在與亞馬遜（Amazon）這類公司的競爭中舉步維艱，關閉了數百家門店。此外，Etsy和Quirky這樣的公司也開始在零售市場招兵買馬。

????梅勒表示，盡管小型公司變得更有競爭力，但并非所有的大型公司都在變小。實際上，最大型公司的現金量多年來一直連創新高。

????此外，華爾街也沒有收縮陣地。奧巴馬三年前曾經承諾消除金融機構因為過于龐大而無法倒閉的風險，而如今國內最大的幾家銀行卻比金融危機前變得更加強大。正如批評人士所說，這些機構的規模對全球金融系統的安全造成了很大的威脅。

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

????譯者：嚴匡正

????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.