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> Imagine if Musk had tried to buy a big three automaker in order to make electric cars happen. Bad analogy. Social media platforms are natural monopolies. The

by dlkf 4y ago

> Imagine if Musk had tried to buy a big three automaker in order to make electric cars happen. Bad analogy. Social media platforms are natural monopolies. The utility of a car doesn't grow with how many other people own that model. By contrast, Twitter's utility is basically just a function of the fact that all the relevant players use it.

wwweston 4y ago
> Social media platforms are natural monopolies. If this was the case, Facebook wouldn't have needed to buy Instagram and Whatsapp. Or hell, there wouldn't have been FB because MySpace would have been king forever. Network effects are real and they can help sustain engagement and mindshare but given how easy it is to move fluidly between multiple forums (social or no), the next competing platform is one compelling reason for engagement away.