Brilliant post by Brad Burnham of Union Square Ventures drawing the analogy of social networks to governments (rather than ecosystems), in which the application developers play the private sector and the users play the citizens.
As I thought about it, it became clear that web platforms really don’t make much. Instead, they create the conditions that encourage others to invest their time and energy to create useful services. The value of Twitter is not in the software that runs on their servers; it is in the content that 180 million people contribute to their network - same with Facebook.
He starts by drawing a big picture analogy.
Facebook is a government. Facebook’s users are citizens, and Facebook’s applications developers are the private companies that drive much of the economy. Apple. Twitter, Myspace, Craigslist, Foursquare, Tumblr and every other large network of engaged users (including some services of Google) plays a similar role. We have always tacitly acknowledged this. We talk about these networks as communities, communities have governments.
And goes on to compare some specifics:
Was Apple’s move an unwarranted extension of state power into what had been private sector analytics, or a necessary and restrained regulatory constraint on companies that may not have been acting in the citizen’s interest? Did Twitter’s announcement of its own URL shortener suggest the state planned to move into an area better left in private hands or are they simply providing basic infrastructure like a highway - a natural state monopoly that benefits everyone.
Before trying to determine to what kind of government each web platform is most akin. You’ll have to click through to read more.
