FWIW "Billions of dollars" should be considered in the context that 1 million people * $1,000 = $1 billion. The US is ~300m people. So, this headline is something like "1/3 of 1% of the US is putting an extra $1,000 in their 401k recently" (really more like 1-2% of the _workforce_ but the point remains)
I use this service and I like it. Many blog posts and engineering discussions tend to treat tools in isolation -- you're learning about Redis or Rails or Ember only. Being able to meet other engineers who use the same _combination_ of tools can help you learn about higher level design patterns and the interactions between the tools.
Good point. Especially that stat, because it is so volatile. So much of the wealth is tied up in the value of companies or other complex things whose value is illiquid, and whose value can change quickly.
Still though, not like it's going to go to 50/50, 70/30, or some less-eye-popping number anytime soon.
True! I just think a lot of times numbers become commodified and make rounds on the internet (accompanied by a superficial level of analysis) without touching upon the real reasons why that number is significant.
Or, should I say that my self-generated perception after a compressed review of the literature has left me inclined to believe that the author is highly self-aware and wry, with their oral muscular hydrostat firmly implanted in either the left or right side of the orifice.
This is an enormously complicated question, and a good answer requires knowing a bit about your background and what you already understand about business.
As for some high level answers to your three questions:
1) They lost a lot of money, how can they function? Well, it depends on your definition of "a lot". Look at http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bs?s=amzn+Balance+Sheet&annual and you will see on the top line, at the end of 2013, Amazon had about $8.6 billion in cash. $574m is only about 6% of that.
2) Where does it get money? There are two main sources. The first is selling goods (books, etc) and services (Amazon Web Services, etc). The second is investors. Amazon owns a lot of it's own stock and if it wanted, it could sell that stock to get more cash.
3) Who invests? Lots of individuals and groups. You're not going to be able to get a list of literally every person who owns a share, but you can easily find out which groups/people own large chunks: https://finance.yahoo.com/q/mh?s=AMZN+Major+Holders
Take my, and everyone's advice, with a grain of salt. Few people have experienced enough launches to offer a very objective view of the patterns, so you're going to have to make the decision for yourself.
As a rule of thumb, from the launches I've seen and been close to, they are not make-or-break for a company/product. You might get a bit of buzz, you might have a TC or RWW article about you, but as I think of successful startups that I didn't personally know, I can remember only a few launch days.
The important factor is in one of two categories:
1) consumer app: the app produces a TON of value, and everyone tells the people they know (viral growth)
2) business app: viral growth is a factor, but there's probably going to be a lot of sales-y activity required.
Neither of these categories are largely dependent on a launch. A launch is more important when you've already got a ton of eyeballs.
Again, this is a rule of thumb, and I'm not aware of a single person who I would say is a true expert around launches.
