Most people don't use Google, Netflix, Twitter, Facebook or Spotify through the web. Some people do, but the majority of repeat traffic comes through app users.

Most people don't use Google, Netflix, Twitter, Facebook or Spotify through the web. Some people do, but the majority of repeat traffic comes through app users. As such, I think the phrasing just represents a general shift away from the web-first paradigm. This has been happening for a while now, and "platform" feels more apt/applicable than "app" or "website" for most of these services. We could also call them "businesses", but the people in marketing probably veto that early as they can. > Don't even get me started on the use of the word "platform" to shame people into moral pigeon holes. That's not new at all. American zealots used to shame television companies for platforming distasteful content. News companies ridicule each other over platforming the "wrong" stories. Before that, printing presses had overt authority over what was published in the first place. Platform power is real, though not always worth getting angry about.