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Facebook : A Platform For The Service Suppliers

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MIS3555 - Midterm
(Questions Answered: 1, 2, 6, 7, and 8)

Question #1

Facebook, in my opinion, is a multisided platform for the following reasons:
1) It experiences multisided network effects – the more users there are, the more valuable the platform becomes as a whole. This is especially true from a multisided perspective, because the more users there are the more valuable the platform is for the service suppliers / advertisers. This exponential growth of value based on user base is a prime example of a platform and when that value stretches across at least 2 stakeholders from each side of the platform, then we can be sure that it is a multisided platform.
2) Depends (or at least has depended) on complementors like Zynga to bring …show more content…

We can already see that with their current expansion into the food delivery business. Instead of partnering with an already existing food delivery service, they are entering that market.
2) Less dependency on complementors. As Facebook is the largest social media platform and part of the digital giants, it has hard power unlike most other firms, they can enter any industry with relative ease just because they have the resources available to do so. This is a treat to a multisided platform as the company is not reliant on complementors unless they have some data that is invaluable and unattainable by the giant (Facebook) itself.
3) Lack of community on the vendor-side. While Facebook boasts a huge community of users, since that is their main focus, there is no issue with community among the users. However, community around the service providers is lacking. It is almost like they are secluded and isolated. Such restriction on the community is the backbone of a multisided platform. Question #2
Facebook has an array of information assets that it owns by collecting information on its users.

Demographic Information / Contact Information
Facebook receives this information upon registration to its service. Simply by receiving such information from millions of people around the globe, they are able to run analytics based on consumer groups. The reason why this data is invaluable for them is because of the sheer magnitude of users.

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