Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c59IR // #c59Synthesis

A platform can be described as a digital environment characterized by near-zero marginal cost of access, reproduction, and distribution.

— In our words · Source: Machine, Platform, Crowd (Andrew McAfee & Erik Brynjolfsson)

[Use when]

When you need to tell a platform from a product.

[Why it matters]

The book's working definition: a platform is not an app or a website, it's an economic environment — near-zero cost to join, copy, and spread.

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