The only barrier to entry you should care about

Naive article.<p>Demand-side scaling is <i>one</i> approach to lock-in. Others include APIs, open/closed data policies, utility, interaction with other services, ease-of-use, and more.<p>Hal Varian and Carl Shapiro's <i>Information Rules</i> is a far more complete look at various elements of lock in from both a provider and consumer perspective. <a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=978-0875848631" rel="nofollow">http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=978-0875848631</a>

"Demand-side benefits of scale are the only important barrier to entry a web business can build up"<p>This is a great post. There was lots of thought previously that network effects could be built using vendor lock in (switching costs), first mover advantage (technological advantage), and preemption of scarce assets. Demand-side benefits of scale really are a preemption of scare assets, whether it is consumer attention or positioning in the app store. @bwertz has provided a great summary of why the rush for traction and the prevention of others that matter. #mustread

How about instead creating barriers by innovating faster. More Elon Musk and less Mark Zuckerburg. The world needs more inventors and less monopolists.