# Tools and Platforms by Jack Cheng ## Metadata - Author: [[Jack Cheng]] - Full Title: Tools and Platforms - Category: #articles - Document Tags: [[platform]] - URL: https://www.jackcheng.com/sunday/363-tools-and-platforms/ ## Highlights A theory: the further down the list we go, the more we think of it as Technology. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gs6dx40zkh8xh5rfvqb0atdc)) Platforms often emphasize benefits like convenience and ease-of-use, while also claiming to solve concerns with less-platformized variants. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gs6dxhftpa0btnyc5sw47j7e)) When we talk about platforms in 2022, we mean *networked* platforms, and – I’m not sure who needs to hear this – network effects are not always positive. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gs6dxyw5yb3emvkbfpfc2ptg)) platformization transfers attention away from the tool and its uses to a growing space *around* the tool – from the sword to the blacksmith shop to the surrounding town square, eventually the whole bustling town – torch-wielding mobs and all. Tools want to be used; platforms want to be hung out in. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gs6e6dkzxmxtjbvcr15qkvwx)) How can we better discern between tools and platforms? When does it make sense to choose a platform over a tool? How can we build healthier platforms? How can we anticipate and hedge against some of the those unintended platform concerns? ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gs6e6tynjze9wdnkpb2hzkvk)) Favor tools over platforms, at least to start. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gs6e5tgz9cx6xhddjq9wt9jb)) Sometimes, platforms, when they get large and widespread enough, spawn protocols – protocols that persist long after the platforms themselves have died out. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gs6e5dpchhy496c4jhm81h55))