You have the right read on the 'press their competitive advantage" - but i'd submit to you that they don't have that yet. In fact Facebook came across like Netscape not Microsoft. Facebook thinks they have sustainability in their platform - not yet. It's a false sense of security on their part. They aren't at the Microsoft levels of leverage yet. In their mind they are but not in competitive strategy.
I actually agree, in part. Facebook is trying their hardest to hold onto the monolith they've constructed. That's certainly something they have that Google doesn't.
But you're right in that they think they have more control than they do. The Microsoft-style lock-in isn't there yet and Facebook has given away its hand. They can't even emulate Microsoft correctly — you stay open until everyone is using your platform and then cripple everyone else.
Part of it is that these old strategies just aren't as feasible as they once were. On the network people move too fast to lock them down.
The tighter the grip the quicker their users will slip through their fingers.
All Comments
It's Google who has the leverage not Facebook.
Here's my post
http://furrier.org/2008/05/15/facebook-just-pul...
I actually agree, in part. Facebook is trying their hardest to hold
onto the monolith they've constructed. That's certainly something
they have that Google doesn't.
But you're right in that they think they have more control than they
do. The Microsoft-style lock-in isn't there yet and Facebook has
given away its hand. They can't even emulate Microsoft correctly
— you stay open until everyone is using your platform and then
cripple everyone else.
Part of it is that these old strategies just aren't as feasible as
they once were. On the network people move too fast to lock them
down.
The tighter the grip the quicker their users will slip through their fingers.