"I’ve argued for years that one of the critical architectural decisions we can make about Web 2.0 applications is whether they are built on the “one ring to rule them all” model that we saw with Microsoft Windows and Office, a game where network effects drive a winner-takes-all marketplace, or the Unix/Internet model of “small pieces loosely joined,” in which cooperating applications come together to build value greater than any of the pieces do alone."

Tim O’Reilly

Agree.  The challenge for some right now is visibility into the business model - as these are businesses - the “one ring” model had clear economic levers (see Microsoft) and while the realities of the market today may not make those levers attainable, they were understandable.  But what is the new model with small pieces loosely joined - is it the same size pie sliced into smaller and smaller (and unsustainable) pieces, or a much larger pie available only to those who come together.  And if the latter (which I think is right), how do you structure those economic arrangements now?