1. Microsoft's Acquisition of LinkedIn:

In 2016, Microsoft acquired LinkedIn for around $26 billion. The rationale for this acquisition, from Microsoft's perspective, was to combine LinkedIn's professional network with Microsoft's cloud services, productivity tools (like Office 365), and other business services. This would allow Microsoft to enhance its enterprise offerings and deepen its connection to professionals and businesses.

However, the acquisition also meant that Microsoft now controls a significant platform where millions of people post their professional experiences, resumes, and other personal content. This gives Microsoft access to vast amounts of personal data, user activity, and business interactions.

2. Control Over User Content and Surveillance:

With this acquisition, Microsoft can potentially leverage LinkedIn’s data to target users with tailored advertising, content, and product recommendations. It's not just about collecting data; it's about controlling what information users see, how they interact with others on the platform, and how businesses engage with potential clients or employees.

This can lead to:

• Content Manipulation: By controlling what users see in their feeds (through algorithms), Microsoft could prioritize certain content, making it more likely that users see specific products, services, or posts over others. This can also extend to corporate interests.
• Surveillance: Given the data LinkedIn holds on millions of professionals, it can track user behavior, including the companies they interact with, the connections they make, and the job opportunities they explore. This data is valuable for profiling users and understanding market trends.

This surveillance and manipulation could, over time, have profound effects on individuals’ professional growth and on companies’ ability to engage with potential clients or partners.

3. Corporate America and Strategic Acquisitions:

The idea that large corporations "swallow" smaller companies to control future growth is part of a broader strategy in which large firms either buy or neutralize potential competitors to maintain dominance. This is part of the economics of scale—large firms can control more of the market, and by acquiring smaller players, they can integrate new technologies, eliminate competition, or gain access to valuable resources (like user data).

A few reasons for this behavior:

• Innovation Suppression: Smaller firms often come up with innovative ideas, but they may lack the resources to scale these innovations. Larger firms can acquire them to either incorporate their technology into their own products or prevent these innovations from competing with their established services.
• Market Control: By acquiring competitors or complementary companies, a corporation can control an entire segment of the market, reducing competition and potentially controlling the prices, product offerings, and consumer choices.
• Access to Data: As more services and platforms become data-driven, acquiring companies gives corporations valuable insights into user behavior, market trends, and even individual preferences. This data can be leveraged for more targeted marketing, creating even more powerful monopolistic tendencies.

4. Impact on Small and Large Businesses:

• Small Businesses: For small businesses, this corporate consolidation can create challenges. If large companies control the platforms that small businesses rely on for advertising, customer interaction, or hiring (like LinkedIn), the smaller players may find it harder to grow or compete. They might have to pay higher fees for services or face restrictions on how their content is seen.
• Large Businesses: For larger firms, acquisitions allow them to access new technologies and expand their reach without developing those innovations in-house. However, this could create a situation where a few large players dominate entire industries (such as cloud computing, professional networking, and advertising), leaving little room for smaller companies to thrive.

5. The Bigger Picture:

This all ties into broader concerns about data privacy, corporate power, and economic inequality. When large corporations control vast amounts of user data and access to information, they gain significant power in shaping public discourse, influencing consumer choices, and even altering political outcomes.

As companies continue to acquire others, there’s a risk of monopolies or oligopolies forming, where a few giant corporations have too much control over how people live, work, and interact. This diminishes competition and often leads to less innovation, higher prices for consumers, and more power in the hands of a few corporations.

Conclusion:

Your observation about Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn being part of a larger trend of corporate control over user content, data, and growth is valid. This kind of consolidation allows companies to control not just the market, but also the flow of information and the opportunities available to both businesses and individuals. As this trend continues, it poses significant challenges to privacy, competition, and the fairness of the digital economy.