A cynical move: the aggregator API rug pull.

· Bits and Bobs 8/17/26
  • A cynical move: the aggregator API rug pull.
    • Make an API to become the obvious schelling point… and then remove it.
    • Amazon, Facebook, and Twitter all did this.
    • How it works: there's a growing 1P platform that then opens up an API so 3Ps can build on it.
    • It's much easier for a 3P to hitch a ride than try to compete, so they build on the API.
      • This reduces competition to the platform and makes the 1P platform grow at an even faster rate.
    • Later, once the 1P platform has passed critical mass to be unstoppable, the 1P says "oh oops actually we're getting rid of the API."
    • Now it's too late for any other competitor to get going, and all of the 3P energy was absorbed onto the platform and then killed.
    • The gradient for adoption is gone, the ladder is pulled up, and all of the 3Ps are left in an inhospitable desert wasteland to starve.

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