Steve Ballmer quote from Acquired:

“Platforms need apps. You want to own the top first party app that runs on your platform, otherwise your platform can’t get good. 

Office was the best first party app on Windows. Outlook was the best first party app on Exchange.

You want to make sure you own the first party app in addition to just your platform.

You will get stuck in the mud if you’re just a platform.”

Applied to crypto, L1s should not only build the chain.

They should build a few amazing apps as well.

Very different strategy than most take today (outsourcing 100% of app building).

A sufficiently decentralized social network. farcaster.xyz

wyt about the case where $btc is both the platform and the product

Totally feel this when I compare the user experience of the clients on the Lens platform and the Farcaster web and mobile apps on the Farcaster platform

def applies to the world of proprietary software. not so sure this translates to open protocols tho..