
The Unwelcome Return of Platform Dependencies - dave1619
http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/26/platform-dependencies/
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SupremumLimit
There is zero insight in this article as far as I can see. Yes, if you are
using someone else's API, it might change. Yes, if you aren't complying with
the terms of service, you may have a problem. If you are adding features to
someone else's product, then sure, they can implement those features too and
make you obsolete.

In addition, I don't see what any of this has to do with the initial premise
that the web provided a way of avoiding the complexities of cross-platform
development.

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praptak
_"I don't see what any of this has to do with the initial premise that the web
provided a way of avoiding the complexities of cross-platform development."_

That was not the initial premise. It was about the web supposedly removing the
platform dependencies. Not the technical ones but the business ones -
basically an unremovable third party between the developer and their
customers. Here's an example of such an article by Tim Bray:

[http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2003/07/12/WebsThePla...](http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2003/07/12/WebsThePlace)

Quote: _"You’re not a sharecropper, especially not a sharecropper, if you’re
building on the Web platform. If you can define your value-add as a series of
interactions via a browser, or an interchange of XML messages, nobody can whip
the land out from under you."_

The above is no longer true. The Web alone is not enough to avoid being a
sharecropper.

~~~
jamesbritt
"The above is no longer true. The Web alone is not enough to avoid being a
sharecropper."

If I build a Web app, what unremovable third-party am I required to use?

~~~
extension
Google, at least. Perhaps others, depending on if/how you want to monetize.

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bl4k
There are some interesting points, but the wrong conclusion.

The conclusions and lead-in should have been that as with the desktop market,
on the web do not trust the platform providers. reply

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gordonguthrie
People really should read Michael Porter's Competitive Strategy:

<http://astore.amazon.com/hypernumbersc-20/detail/0684841487>

He points out that pricing power in a supplier relationship is held by
whichever side would find it easier to integrate into the other ones space. So
Apple vs App Makers, Facebook vs in-Facebook games, Twitter vs Twitter apps...

There can be a healthy acquisition route for successful startups in a supplier
relationship - but only for the first one of its kind.

