The Guppy and the Whale
Bigger is not always better, unless it is.
Saturday, April 15th, 2006
Whenever possible, I shop at independent businesses. I buy bagels from a fourth-generation baker and his son, the fifth-generation baker; my pharmacy has been family-owned and- operated since the 1920’s; my local comic shop guy automatically pulls books by my favorite writers and artists; and the only person I trust with my car has a work ethic that’s positively old-fashioned. For example, dings and dents get repaired perfectly and my entire car gets detailed at no extra charge.
In each instance, every transaction is an investment in each other and in the local community, as opposed to just a sale, and it’s nice to be recognized. But I also support “mom and pop shops” because, at heart, I always want the little guy to win. Or, in this day and age, to at least stay alive and remain independent. Certainly, some of my bias is purely selfish (I love my baker’s raisin danish), but I also take greater comfort in seeing individual successes and proof that a person can still “earn a good living,” as our parents used to say.
So, given my proclivity for “small is better,” I am a little worried about Oracle’s acquisition of SleepyCat Software. I can’t help but picture the purchase as a whale swallowing a guppy, or more cynically, as Applebee’s purchasing and managing Berkeley’s famed Chez Panisse. (SleepyCat is a Berkeley institution, too, by the way.)
