The dilemma for networked products is stark. Embrace the professionalization of the hard side, and reap the benefits of increasing scale. Yet this leads to power concentration, and potential misalignments—though hopefully no protests outside your windows. Or reject the trend, and see the hard side struggle with scale. I distinctly believe that the former, done well, is the way to go. However, it’s incredibly hard to finesse—no wonder nearly every marketplace company has to deal with labor issues, and every app development platform has ended up competing with or booting off its app developers.
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