zlacker

>>exists+(OP)
Repeat after me and frame this.

Never build your main business on somebody else's platform.

Always assume that you will get shutdown / rugged when you do so.

>>colesa+z4
Yeah, if you want to pump oil, you better also build your own railways to distribute it, because you won't like what Standard Oil will charge you for their trains.

>>like_a+J4
>Yeah, if you want to pump oil, you better also build your own railways to distribute it

You're being facetious, but OP is right. For software platforms, this has been a constant. It happened with Twitter, Facebook, Google (Search/Ads, Maps, Chat), Reddit, LinkedIn - basically ever major software platform started off with relatively open APIs that were then closed-off as it gained critical mass and focused on monetization.

>>macspo+F7
And it's bigger than software. This is just vertical integration; both your suppliers and your customers will ask if they can replace you. As they should. If your only value is as a middleman that your upstream supplier can easily replace... well, that's not a lot of value.