Comments on: Facebook and platform complementors: history repeats? http://www.chaddickerson.com/blog/2008/04/01/facebook-and-platform-complementors-history-repeats/ A little bit technology, a little bit rock-n-roll Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:21:54 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Annabelle Gawer http://www.chaddickerson.com/blog/2008/04/01/facebook-and-platform-complementors-history-repeats/comment-page-1/#comment-299343 Annabelle Gawer Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:45:06 +0000 http://www.chaddickerson.com/blog/2008/04/01/facebook-and-platform-complementors-history-repeats/#comment-299343 I am delighted to discover this blog, and glad you appreciated my earlier work on platform leadership. For other readers interested in these ideas, you may want to read a more recent article by Gawer and Cusumano (2008) titled Strategies to Become a Platform Leader, published in the MIT Sloan Management Review. Full references can be found on http://www.platformleadership.com I am happy to engage in more discussion, just email me from that web page which has my contact, as well as summaries of recent publications. Update: a forthcoming book that I have edited titled Platforms, Markets and Innovation -- which gathers the novel contributions of 24 of the best international researchers in this area. I am delighted to discover this blog, and glad you appreciated my earlier work on platform leadership. For other readers interested in these ideas, you may want to read a more recent article by Gawer and Cusumano (2008) titled Strategies to Become a Platform Leader, published in the MIT Sloan Management Review. Full references can be found on http://www.platformleadership.com
I am happy to engage in more discussion, just email me from that web page which has my contact, as well as summaries of recent publications. Update: a forthcoming book that I have edited titled Platforms, Markets and Innovation — which gathers the novel contributions of 24 of the best international researchers in this area.

]]> By: Robi Ganguly http://www.chaddickerson.com/blog/2008/04/01/facebook-and-platform-complementors-history-repeats/comment-page-1/#comment-169148 Robi Ganguly Wed, 07 May 2008 23:38:46 +0000 http://www.chaddickerson.com/blog/2008/04/01/facebook-and-platform-complementors-history-repeats/#comment-169148 Finally got around to reading this and am so glad that I did. I'm surprised that I'm not seeing more discussion about these dynamics (platform leader vs complementor) given the fact that there are so many "platforms" out there. Whether you're Facebook or Twitter, offering up the ability to build on top of your service means that you should be thinking about how you're going to manage your evolution and, as such, the evolution of your complementors. To date, it doesn't seem to me like any of the service providers have actively talked about their strategy here. The accelerated pace of change creates a new opportunity to service your complementors better than others if you're the platform leader. I think we have yet to see anyone do that well, though. Finally got around to reading this and am so glad that I did.

I’m surprised that I’m not seeing more discussion about these dynamics (platform leader vs complementor) given the fact that there are so many “platforms” out there. Whether you’re Facebook or Twitter, offering up the ability to build on top of your service means that you should be thinking about how you’re going to manage your evolution and, as such, the evolution of your complementors.

To date, it doesn’t seem to me like any of the service providers have actively talked about their strategy here. The accelerated pace of change creates a new opportunity to service your complementors better than others if you’re the platform leader. I think we have yet to see anyone do that well, though.

]]> By: Richard Crowley http://www.chaddickerson.com/blog/2008/04/01/facebook-and-platform-complementors-history-repeats/comment-page-1/#comment-155910 Richard Crowley Wed, 02 Apr 2008 00:35:34 +0000 http://www.chaddickerson.com/blog/2008/04/01/facebook-and-platform-complementors-history-repeats/#comment-155910 The detail that so many Facebook Platform developers have missed is really quite simple and fits neatly into the parallel you've drawn with the Windows API or Intel's instruction set. Just as at those levels it's silly for a 3rd party to develop a network settings manager or a file browser, it's absolutely absurd to develop features for Facebook that do nothing more than fluff up the social graph. The Facebook Platform is about using those relationships to more easily do something (anything) else, not simply piling on more relationships. The detail that so many Facebook Platform developers have missed is really quite simple and fits neatly into the parallel you’ve drawn with the Windows API or Intel’s instruction set. Just as at those levels it’s silly for a 3rd party to develop a network settings manager or a file browser, it’s absolutely absurd to develop features for Facebook that do nothing more than fluff up the social graph.

The Facebook Platform is about using those relationships to more easily do something (anything) else, not simply piling on more relationships.

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