Read this quarter’s Intermedia here

INTERMEDIA

SOLVING THE ONLINE PLATFORM PUZZLE

14.04.2017
Share this

By CHRISTIAN HILDEBRANDT and RENÉ ARNOLD

The internet can reduce information and transaction costs to almost zero – so it lends itself well to creating platform business models that act as intermediaries to match two or more users or groups quickly and independently of their location. It is not surprising that two of the earliest actors in the commercialisation phase of the internet were Amazon and eBay – and both companies are still thriving today.
With consumers spending more time online, advertising expenditure was bound to quickly follow eyeballs. Google, Facebook and others build on the insights they are able to gather about consumers, but also about advertising effectiveness, to create highly profitable platforms for advertisers. Recently, new competitors such as Snapchat and WeChat, which better understand how to capture the attention of consumers on mobile devices, are catching up.

Download

How can policymakers make sense of the impact of online platforms? CHRISTIAN HILDEBRANDT and RENÉ ARNOLD put forward a model that covers the complex dimensions.

Intermedia Issue:
Vol 45, Issue 01
Issue Date:
April 2017
Theme:
Competition Policy

Vol 45, Issue 01 Features

EDITORIAL 14.04.2017
DC CURRENTS 14.04.2017
SWITCH IN TIME 14.04.2017 Sonia Gill
View All
Back to the top

The IIC is the world's only policy debating platform for the converged communications industry

We give innovators and regulators a forum in which to explore, debate and agree the best policies and regulatory frameworks for widest societal benefit.

Insight: Exchange: Influence

We give members a voice through conferences, symposiums and private meetings, as well as broad exposure of their differing viewpoints through articles, reports and interviews.

The new website will make it easier for you to gather fresh insights, exchange views with others and have a voice in the debate

Take a look Learn more about our updates
Please upgrade your browser

You are seeing this because you are using a browser that is not supported. The International Institute of Communications website is built using modern technology and standards. We recommend upgrading your browser with one of the following to properly view our website:

Windows Mac

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of browsers. We also do not intend to recommend a particular manufacturer's browser over another's; only to suggest upgrading to a browser version that is compliant with current standards to give you the best and most secure browsing experience.