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Cool. Great. Platform effect sucks. ...But what, exactly, is OP supposed to do about it? What leverage do they have in the world to change the way things are

by jnovek 6y ago

Cool. Great. Platform effect sucks. ...But what, exactly, is OP supposed to do about it? What leverage do they have in the world to change the way things are? Realistically, when you’re building a startup, you use the tools you can get. Perhaps OP did not sufficient hedge across multiple engagement platforms but based on my experience, it’s very plausible that they tried multiple platforms and only found engagement on one. The action they were taking was even to better understand their underlying demographic, presumably to approach they demographic from other marketing vectors because platform effect sucks. Should OP simply ignore the opportunity because they haven’t been able to engage on another platform? The problem with a monopoly is precisely that the monopoly’s users don’t have a choice.

wishinghand 6y ago
> what, exactly, is OP supposed to do about it? Don't do it twice. > What leverage do they have in the world to change the way things are? Provide platform agnostic services. I'm no friend or supporter of the massive FAANG companies, but the parent company of Instagram helped popularize the phrase, "move fast and break things." I would never start a business based on another business that espoused that motto.
- jnovek 6y ago
  This response and the GP are so useless to OP. I suspect that OP has already learned quite a bit about platform effect and will carry those lessons with them forever. Further, posting this is certainly intended as both a warning to the wise and a call for help. Saying variations of “platform effect is bad” is simply repeating (with substantially less authority) what OP is already telling us. It’s punditry. Rather than repeating what we already know, do you have any ideas or advice on how OP can get out of their current pickle?
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - KronisLV 6y ago
    Apart from trying to get bunches of attention directed towards the issue, which in some cases may or may not make the corporations budge (cases like https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26357033 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26357033 which would result in bad PR for said companies), is there really anything to be done in the first place? I think the person that you replied to seems to imply that there isn't, especially since what OP did may or may not be entirely allowed under the platform's ToS.
behnamoh 6y ago
> The action they were taking was even to better understand their underlying demographic, presumably to approach they demographic from other marketing vectors because platform effect sucks. If I follow an IG page, I sure don't want them to then go about collecting my data. And we don't know what data the OP was collecting.
- jnovek 6y ago
  That’s totally fair. I feel the same way. I also suspect it’s a widespread practice. Perhaps if IG as an organization weren’t so opaque we would have better rules for using it as a customer engagement platform. Personally, I share personal information with companies and organizations once I feel like I can trust them enough to care for that information correctly. It would be neat if IG enabled that in an organized way. Out of curiosity (real and legitimate curiosity because you brought up the privacy concerns) if you found yourself in the situation I mentioned above — your only platform with successful engagement is Instagram and you want to expand off of the platform — how would you approach it? For example, I would probably try to speak plainly and openly with my IG audience about my problem and how it affects a service that they enjoy and request feedback.
  - behnamoh 6y ago
    I think it depends on the page content and the type of audience you have. For a meme/reels page, for example, I don't think the audience is willing to try another platform just because of you. There are already thousands of pages and it wouldn't matter if your page is gone. But for a more serious page, like training/news/store, I would make it clear to my audience that they can have some richer content from the same creators on another platform/website. Stories don't work as most people mute them. Videos also don't work as people usually mute them. Put the link in the Bio and let them know where they can find you outside of IG.
  - OriolRoda 6y ago
    I can tell you what we do: We use SM as a reach platform but then we create a direct relationship: email, telegram, FB groups. We've build a community of +150.000 people. They are not gone, however now it's harder for us to reach more people.

by jnovek 6y ago

wishinghand 6y ago

> what, exactly, is OP supposed to do about it? Don't do it twice. > What leverage do they have in the world to change the way things are? Provide platform agnostic services. I'm no friend or supporter of the massive FAANG companies, but the parent company of Instagram helped popularize the phrase, "move fast and break things." I would never start a business based on another business that espoused that motto.

jnovek 6y ago
This response and the GP are so useless to OP. I suspect that OP has already learned quite a bit about platform effect and will carry those lessons with them forever. Further, posting this is certainly intended as both a warning to the wise and a call for help. Saying variations of “platform effect is bad” is simply repeating (with substantially less authority) what OP is already telling us. It’s punditry. Rather than repeating what we already know, do you have any ideas or advice on how OP can get out of their current pickle?
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- KronisLV 6y ago
  Apart from trying to get bunches of attention directed towards the issue, which in some cases may or may not make the corporations budge (cases like https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26357033 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26357033 which would result in bad PR for said companies), is there really anything to be done in the first place? I think the person that you replied to seems to imply that there isn't, especially since what OP did may or may not be entirely allowed under the platform's ToS.

behnamoh 6y ago

> The action they were taking was even to better understand their underlying demographic, presumably to approach they demographic from other marketing vectors because platform effect sucks. If I follow an IG page, I sure don't want them to then go about collecting my data. And we don't know what data the OP was collecting.

jnovek 6y ago
That’s totally fair. I feel the same way. I also suspect it’s a widespread practice. Perhaps if IG as an organization weren’t so opaque we would have better rules for using it as a customer engagement platform. Personally, I share personal information with companies and organizations once I feel like I can trust them enough to care for that information correctly. It would be neat if IG enabled that in an organized way. Out of curiosity (real and legitimate curiosity because you brought up the privacy concerns) if you found yourself in the situation I mentioned above — your only platform with successful engagement is Instagram and you want to expand off of the platform — how would you approach it? For example, I would probably try to speak plainly and openly with my IG audience about my problem and how it affects a service that they enjoy and request feedback.
- behnamoh 6y ago
  I think it depends on the page content and the type of audience you have. For a meme/reels page, for example, I don't think the audience is willing to try another platform just because of you. There are already thousands of pages and it wouldn't matter if your page is gone. But for a more serious page, like training/news/store, I would make it clear to my audience that they can have some richer content from the same creators on another platform/website. Stories don't work as most people mute them. Videos also don't work as people usually mute them. Put the link in the Bio and let them know where they can find you outside of IG.
- OriolRoda 6y ago
  I can tell you what we do: We use SM as a reach platform but then we create a direct relationship: email, telegram, FB groups. We've build a community of +150.000 people. They are not gone, however now it's harder for us to reach more people.