THE_NEW_RULES

The Platform Tax: Are We All Just Sharecroppers Now?

Chapter 6: Platform Dynamics

"Every major platform now operates as a marketplace, taking 15-30% commissions while controlling which tools reach developers. The dynamics that sparked Epic's lawsuit against Apple now shape how your developer tools reach their audience."

The book reveals how platform fees and controls are spreading everywhere - GitHub Marketplace, VS Code extensions, cloud marketplaces. Are we building our own digital feudalism?

Questions for Debate:

The Extraction Economy

  • Is 30% commission reasonable for platform access, or highway robbery?
  • What value do platforms actually provide for their cut?
  • Are we recreating the exploitative systems we claimed to disrupt?

The Control Problem

  • Should platforms decide which tools succeed through featuring and rankings?
  • When platforms compete with marketplace vendors, who wins?
  • How is this different from the Microsoft antitrust cases?

The Dependency Trap

  • Can developer tools survive without platform marketplaces?
  • Are we forced to accept any terms platforms dictate?
  • Is there any real negotiating power for tool creators?

Share Your Experience:

The Platform Sellers:

  • What percentage of revenue goes to platform fees?
  • How have platform rule changes affected your business?
  • What hoops do you jump through for platform approval?

The Direct Sellers:

  • How do you reach customers without platform marketplaces?
  • What's the real cost of going direct vs. platform distribution?
  • Can you compete with platform-featured alternatives?

The Business Reality:

The Economics:

  • Do platform fees make tool development unprofitable?
  • Are we subsidizing platform profits with our innovation?
  • Who captures value in the platform economy?

The Competition:

  • When platforms copy successful marketplace apps, what recourse exists?
  • How do you compete when platforms promote their own tools?
  • Is platform neutrality a myth?

The Innovation Impact:

  • Do platform fees discourage new tool development?
  • Are we only building tools that platforms approve?
  • What tools don't exist because platforms won't allow them?

The Structural Questions:

The Alternative Models:

  • Could open source marketplaces work?
  • Would blockchain/decentralized markets be better?
  • Is the platform model inevitable or changeable?

The Regulatory Angle:

  • Should developer platforms face the same scrutiny as app stores?
  • Are platform fees a form of monopolistic rent-seeking?
  • What regulations would actually help?

The Collective Action:

  • Could developers unite to demand better terms?
  • What leverage do tool creators actually have?
  • Is organizing against platforms realistic or naive?

The Historical Parallel:

We moved from desktop software (you own it) to SaaS (you rent it) to platform marketplaces (platforms own you). Each step traded independence for convenience.

  • Was this progression inevitable?
  • Can we reverse it?
  • What comes next?

The Philosophical Angle:

The Freedom Question:

  • Is platform dependency compatible with developer freedom?
  • Are we employees pretending to be entrepreneurs?
  • What does "ownership" mean in the platform age?

The Value Creation:

  • Who creates more value - platforms or tool developers?
  • Why do platforms capture most of the profit?
  • Is this sustainable or heading for revolt?

Your Position:

Are platform marketplaces enabling innovation or extracting it?

What would it take for you to boycott platform marketplaces?

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