Define the contested boundaries among Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. For each contested boundary that you have identified, how is the contest likely to play out among the giants?

2. Consider Facebook and Amazon as platforms. Are they the same kind of platform? Justify and support your position with substantive reasoning and source citations.

3. Will a balance of power among these four prevail or will one take command at the expense of the other three, or are all four more vulnerable than they seem to outside forces?

4. Identify a firm (traditional media, retail or manufacturing) that is involved with the online economy. How many of the big four firms does it currently rely on? How might that firm hedge the risks it will face if there is a transition to one of the others or a new entrant into the market?

5. Are there any other larger implications for the pace of digital disruption right now?