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# The End of Silicon Valley as We Know It?
- URL: https://www.philsimon.com/the-end-of-silicon-valley-as-we-know-it/
- Published: 2012-08-20T14:36:42.000Z
- Updated: 2025-07-13T16:39:43.000Z
- Description: Thoughts on platforms and innovation.
- Author: Phil Simon
- Tags: Platforms, Amazon, Apple, Facebook/Meta, Google, The Age of the Platform

Does Yammer represent the last [acquisition](https://techcrunch.com/2012/07/19/microsoft-completes-its-1-2b-yammer-acquisition/?ref=philsimon.com) of its kind? It's an interesting question discussed by a bunch of tech heavyweights [here](https://techcrunch.com/2012/08/19/sad-sacks?ref=philsimon.com), including Marc Andreesen. Many comments touch on many different points. It's well worth the read.

## Simon Says

For my part, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google have concurrently made it easy and difficult for others to innovate on their platforms. Open APIs and SDKs encourage innovation. However, as we've seen with [StockTwits](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StockTwits?ref=philsimon.com) and others, those improvements can easily be incorporated into those very platforms.