YouTube and eBay flip the gatekeeping process used in media and retail. Platforms displace high-cost gatekeepers with merit-based crowds. Three factors will speed further disruption: In such markets, consumers can become producers. They aid in the creation of new markets by connecting producers and consumers with each other.
Facebook, Uber, and eBay typify such network platforms. Platform firms are networked ecosystems that connect multiple players, providing tools for them to contribute and interact, and rules that govern participation. We are seeing a seismic shift in business models, powered by the Internet and a generation of connected users. Now, market upstarts are displacing market leaders faster than ever before as entire industries transform. Value was created upstream and flowed downstream. Producers and consumers held distinct roles. Firms added value to products, shipped them out and sold them to consumers.
We used to live in a world where commerce flowed linearly. Analyst: Apple could sell 10 million iWatches - if they existed
