For years I've felt that it's the largest companies on earth that will eventually determine most things public and political.
Whether we like it or not, Companies like Google and Facebook, Apple and Amazon, control most of what we see online. The extent to which these four companies filter our content would be shocking if we fully understood what they do.
Every Company has policies on what is morally right to show it's audience (a scene of violence or abuse) and also policies of what they promote. Their influence globally is now so pervasive that they literally have the power to influence who comes into power and who is posted in a bad light.
Much was contested in the USA Elections where Donald Trump came to power. The final weeks of the electoral fight was focussed online. Millions of dollars being spent on very targeted online adverts direct to voters. I watched a fascinating documentary about the process used, how the companies were profiling 150 different types of people and what their preferences might be and then sending them individualised adverts to swing their votes.
In this case, both sides were doing it, but Donald Trumps team, were just ahead in the sophistication of their efforts. Anyway that is a blog for another day.
What this graph really shows us are commercial dispensations, in the 90 and naughties, Oil companies ruled the roost, more recently tech companies, which are likely to be there for some time.
The only thing likely to topple them are companies which bring sophisticated data management and the sale of physical goods together, so Amazon and Apple right now are the hottest tickets. But wait and watch as Walmart catches up on the and Asian powerhouses like Alibaba - not forgetting not to write off Indian new comers who have the biggest growth potential in the world as India wakes up to the internet and all it could bring.
If nothing else it's very enlightening graphic.