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In June of this year, thousands of protestors all over the United States of America marched against the Federal Communications Commission’s proposed legislation which could compromise net neutrality (Vox, 2017). Actions undertaken for the purpose of the protest were profoundly initiated by an online community called ‘Battle for the Net’, which is an online community of people fighting for equal treatment of all Internet users (Battle for the Net, 2017).

If you might have not heard of the news before, it might be important to first explain what net neutrality entails. Net neutrality refers to the principle that Internet service providers, such as Comcast and AT&T, enable anyone, regardless of the source, to access online content without discriminating against particular websites or applications (Lohr, 2017).

In 2015, under the presidency of Obama, legislation protecting net neutrality were passed, yet President Trump has once again rekindled the discussion (HuffPost, 2017). In an official statement, the administration of President Trump announced its ambitions to overthrow this legislation and reverse the status of broadband Internet as a common carrier utility service (Lohr, 2017).

A key implication of such decision making would be that Internet service providers will be able to distribute internet speed according to the amount paid by the companies behind these websites. As a result, start-ups or smaller parties involved will be at a disadvantage due to their limited funds. Therefore, I believe net neutrality is crucial to the very existence of online start-up players. By enabling Internet service providers to for example lower website loading times or block users from certain content, legislation will allow these providers to strongly influence online user behaviour.

The FCC previous defence to allegations in 2014, during the first wave of net neutrality activism, is that they will still offer ‘baseline’ service to all Internet players and thus is not ‘gutting the Open Internet Rule’ (Edwards, 2014). In recent reports, one may recognize a similar notion. In Edward’s opinion, if some larger online players with deep pockets will receive more than baseline service as long as they pay more, this baseline service will still be at the lowest (possible) service level, thus hurting those who lack financial resources.

Personally, I believe any such legislation will prove to be a deterioration to the innovative culture start-ups bring to a nation, and more importantly, to the means we have provided these entrepreneurs with – the Internet as a key channel. However, as I am very interested in your opinions concerning net neutrality, please leave a comment!

 

References

Battle for the Net. 2017. Homepage. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.battleforthenet.com/. [Accessed 19 October 2017].

Edwards. 2014. Here’s a Simple Explanation of Net Neutrality And How It Affects You — In Plain English. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/simple-explanation-of-net-neutrality-2014-4?international=true&r=US&IR=T. [Accessed 19 October 2017].

HuffPost. 2017. Net Neutrality in 2017 – What You Should Know. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/net-neutrality-in-2017-what-you-should-know_us_599debf0e4b06d67e334fa94. [Accessed 19 October 2017].

Lohr. 2017. Net Neutrality Is Trump’s Next Target, Administration Says. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/30/technology/net-neutrality.html. [Accessed 19 October 2017].

Vox. 2017. Today’s net neutrality protest is a last stand in a fight that could change the internet. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/7/12/15952166/net-neutrality-protest-2017-battle-for-net-fcc-changes. [Accessed 19 October 2017].

 

 

 

 

 

 

5/5 (1)

It is highly likely we all know the chicken or the egg metaphor – was it the chicken or the egg who existed before the other? And more specifically, which of the two caused the existence of the other? By searching through the Internet to find articles about the new economy, it seems a similar question arises in the field of business model innovation.

Interest in this topic was spurred by an article published by Forbes (2017), in which the author claimed that ‘2017 is quickly becoming the year of the API economy’. Before diving into the topic, let’s first get our facts straight.

An API is a customizable software interface which enables initially separate software components to effectively interact and share data by building bridges between them, and thus overcoming ‘the inherent incompatibilities’ resulting from different software systems or applications (Mulesoft, 2017). Platforms create their value by facilitating an exchange of products or services or enabling co-creation of value for distinct user groups (Bonchek and Choudary, 2013). In the context of building bridges, it seems like both APIs and platforms fulfil a similar role as the connection between two (or more) different sides. Adding the word ‘economy’ to both of these terms simply refers to the way in which respectively APIs and platforms can positively affect overall organizational profitability (Mulesoft, 2017), or more specifically in the case of platforms, overall value created for the platform owner, provider, producers and consumers (Van Alstyne et al. 2016).

Law and Birmingham (2016) refer to APIs as the ‘oxygen for the platform economy’, following from the critical role these play in the success of platform business models. As APIs (1) provide an non-proprietary, open interface to participants of the platform, (2) enable data creation and flow back to users and (3) serve as an integration layer between different user devices, these are the go-to-tool for platform creation and development.

From the aforementioned, one can conclude that at the very least, APIs as lines of code, have enabled the value created for users and platform operators, and thus enabling the platform economy. However, as established above, the term ‘API economy’ reflects the way in which organizations are able to profit from APIs rather than emphasizing the omnipresence of APIs. The question at hand thus becomes: did the API economy fuel a platform’s ability to create value, or did the platform economy fuel the need for APIs as profitability- and business model innovation tools?

Stating which of these economies is the chicken and which is the egg is difficult – I think both are simply eggs enabled by a chicken we call the ‘Information Technology economy’. The API economy provided the agile tools for organizations to enable these to ‘plug and play’ different business opportunities onto the platform, and quickly test what could work and deliver value to stakeholders. So yes, the API economy fuels a platform’s ability to create value. Yet, stepping away from the traditional pipeline models to platform business models is not necessary fuelled solely by the fact that business leaders now simply have the tools to do so. These leaders recognized an attraction in the market between two different user groups and simply facilitated this connection through an IT channel. As such, the need for platforms fuels the need for a tool that could enable user connection – which are indeed, APIs.

But what do you think about this matter and the API- and platform economy? Please let me know in the comments!

 

References

Bonchek, M. & Choudary, S. P. 2017. Three Elements of a Successful Platform Strategy. [ONLINE] Available at: https://hbr.org/2013/01/three-elements-of-a-successful-platform. [Accessed 14 October 2017].

Forbes (L. Columbus). 2017. 2017 Is Quickly Becoming The Year Of The API Economy. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2017/01/29/2017-is-quickly-becoming-the-year-of-the-api-economy/#3bb39de26a41. [Accessed 14 October 2017].

Law, C. K. & Birmingham, A. 2017. API is Oxygen to the Platform Economy. [ONLINE] Available at: https://which-50.com/api-oxygen-platform-economy/. [Accessed 15 October 2017].

Mulesoft. 2017. What is an API Economy (Application Programming Interface Economy). [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.mulesoft.com/resources/api/what-is-an-api-economy. [Accessed 12 October 2017].

Van Alstyne, M. W., Parker, G. G., & Choudary, S. P. 2016. Pipelines, platforms, and the new rules of strategy. Harvard Business Review 94(4) 54-62. [ONLINE] Available at: https://hbr.org/2016/04/pipelines-platforms-and-the-new-rules-of-strategy. [Accessed 02 October 2017]