Forget AOL, or Amazon.com, the most interesting company online is Sony.

The Metreon in San Francisco is one of three retail centers planned by Sony. I believe they are retail entertainment centers, or something of that nature. In reality it's a mall with less shops, and a few pay as you go amusement centers. It's not cheap, but it's a place to kill a few hours with the kids, and the movie theaters are pretty good.

If you have ever been to the city, you'll notice immediately the homeless people, and beggars that line almost every street downtown. One of the most beautiful cities in the world is pockmarked with some of the most wretched people you will every come across. All I can remember vividly of the Metreon building itself was the homeless man sleeping across from it, a more striking feature of the landscape than any amount of glass and concrete can cover. The other thing I remember is how every Metreon employee that made eye contact with me, including the guy in the men's room cleaning out one of the stalls, said, "Welcome to Metreon. You'll really like it here." Or variations of the same sentiment. Disneyland for the yuppie scum that I have no doubt become.

In part, I admire the incredible ability of Sony to extend its brand into places that no other consumer electronics company has ever gone before, but I loathe myself for having allowed myself to become an admirer. I have probably become the very superficial, materialistic, pathetic, middle class fool that I always loathed.

Full Disclosure - That's right, I got another flame from a 3dfx fanatic so, I am feeling a little angry right now. I thought I'd done my penance with those guys. And, as the friend who recommended the Metreon warned me, I should have been prepared for the amount of money you have to spray around the place just to get from one floor to another. So, a lot poorer, and a lot angry. Today is not a pretty day for writing.

You walk into the Metreon, and you are in effect, with any purchase, at any point, building the Sony brand. So, what is brand? It can't be that bad a thing. Company's with a strong brand are familiar, can get their message across, and deliver a differentiated product. I love the Sony brand. Everyone should love the Sony brand. Never bought a bad Sony product, yet, but I have never bought a Viao either.