Platform Chronicles

Global vs. local network effects

How to figure out whether a platform’s network effects are global or local when things are not as obvious as for Airbnb (clearly global) or TaskRabbit…

Oct 24, 2023 • 

Andrei Hagiu

 and 

Julian Wright

18

8

July 2023

Creating feedback loops from data and AI

How to create or strengthen feedback loops for products that can learn from customer data

Jul 17, 2023 • 

Andrei Hagiu

 and 

Julian Wright

8

February 2022

How defensible are the network effects on API platforms?

Under what conditions do API platforms have real and defensible network effects, as opposed to being just one-sided outsourcing services?

Feb 23, 2022 • 

Andrei Hagiu

 and 

Julian Wright

10

6

January 2022

Audius – the decentralized platform for music

What makes Audius’ decentralized model particularly suitable for the music industry and what are its main weaknesses?

Jan 18, 2022 • 

Andrei Hagiu

 and 

Julian Wright

6

2

December 2021

Product-to-platform part VII: Corning’s Gorilla Glass

How can Corning’s Gorilla Glass be transformed into a platform by reaching out to its customers’ customers?

Dec 14, 2021 • 

Andrei Hagiu

 and 

Julian Wright

1

2

November 2021

The pros and cons of decentralized platforms

What are the factors that make decentralized platforms better or worse than centralized platforms?

Nov 30, 2021 • 

Andrei Hagiu

, 

Julian Wright

, and 

Hanna Halaburda

7

7

Is OpenSea any more decentralized than eBay?

OpenSea is oftentimes described as a decentralized platform. That is misleading.

Nov 16, 2021 • 

Andrei Hagiu

 and 

Julian Wright

3

Will network effects save Ethereum from the Ethereum killers?

What are the network effects around Ethereum and layer-1 blockchains more generally, and how defensible are they?

Nov 4, 2021 • 

Andrei Hagiu

 and 

Julian Wright

3

October 2021

The chicken-and-egg problem of marketplaces

What strategies can marketplaces (and other network effects businesses) use to get past the cold-start problem?

Oct 19, 2021 • 

Andrei Hagiu

 and 

Julian Wright

15

4

Internal network effects

Others have described many different settings in which network effects operate. How about inside a firm?

Oct 5, 2021 • 

Andrei Hagiu

 and 

Julian Wright

3

1

September 2021

Our new online course: Building and investing in network effects

Why the future of executive education is specialized, online, cohort-based courses, and why you should join ours.

Sep 21, 2021 • 

Andrei Hagiu

 and 

Julian Wright

3

5

Why platforms reward hyper-specialization

Specialization has always been good for competitive advantage. But why are the returns to specialization even greater on large digital platforms?

Sep 7, 2021 • 

Andrei Hagiu

 and 

Julian Wright

3