In an excerpt of his new book, I Live in the Future and Here’s How It Works, Nick Bilton argues that the consumer is now the center of the media world. “Now, we are always in the center of the map, and it’s a very powerful place to be. Now you are the starting point. Now the digital world follows you, not the other way around.”

In the political world, the rough analog to this digital media future is democracy. But as we’ve seen, the seeming transfer of control from lawmakers to the people is just that: seeming. To a large degree, the big media and technology companies – particularly the de facto monopolies like the mobile carriers, cable companies, etc. – still control the consumer experience. The future will be personalized, but don’t think you’ll get everything you want when you want it.