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# The Explosion of Platform Books
- URL: https://www.philsimon.com/the-explosion-of-platform-books/
- Published: 2016-05-16T12:02:33.000Z
- Updated: 2025-08-04T09:43:14.000Z
- Description: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google prove that the topic matters more than ever. Don't expect that to change anytime soon.
- Author: Phil Simon
- Tags: Platforms, Trends, Amazon, Apple, Breaking Bad, Facebook/Meta, Google, Jargon, On-Demand Economy, The Age of the Platform

Prior to [the release of *The Age of the Platform* in 2011](https://www.philsimon.com/the-age-of-the-platform-publication/), nearly all of the research on the topic of modern-day platforms was limited. You'd have to go to economics textbooks and articles in obscure academic journals. 

At the risk of overstating things, *The Age of the Platform* was the first mainstream business book to address not only the platform as the most important business model of the 21st century, but [the Gang of Four](https://techcrunch.com/2011/05/31/schmidt-gang-four-google-apple-amazon-facebook/?ref=philsimon.com): Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google.

To this extent, it's fair to call the book a *seminal* text, as a few reviewers have. An [Amazon search on "platform books"](https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr%5Fst%5Frelevancerank?keywords=platform&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Aplatform&qid=1463095261&sort=relevancerank&ref=philsimon.com) reveals a burgeoning body of current and future work on the topic. Alternatively, consider the following visual that represents a striking number of related and/or derivative books:

![](https://i.imgur.com/DwbjrCF.jpg)

Click image to embiggen it.

As I wrote in the foreword to the book's revised edition (published in mid-2013):

Almost 18 months after its initial publication, *The Age of the Platform* remains to my knowledge the only book on the topic, although some recent texts have touched upon some of its key themes. I suspect that many more will.

This wasn't exactly an earth-shattering prediction—and this was before self-anointed platforms such as Uber, AirBNB, and other darlings of the On-Demand Economy started to gain steam. (They are not true platforms à la Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, WordPress, Twitter, etc., but that's a discussion for another time.)

> Platforms are anything but static. 

I don't view other texts as copycats or knockoffs for several reasons. First, there's a great deal more to say on the topic than any one book or mind can accommodate. Second, change happens faster than ever. Platforms are anything but static. Third and on a purely selfish level, the fact that so many other intelligent authors and thought leaders have recognized the importance of platform thinking—five years *after* the publication of *The Age of the Platform*—validates the central thesis of my book.

[As a Matter of Fact, the NFL Is Not a PlatformTo claim otherwise is absurd.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/icon/newlogo-2-80.png)Phil SimonPhil Simon![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/thumbnail/nfl.jpg)](https://www.philsimon.com/as-a-matter-of-fact-the-nfl-is-not-a-platform/)

## Simon Says

Brass tacks: Despite [its undeniable entrance into the pantheon of business buzzwords](https://www.philsimon.com/advice-to-startups-stop-using-the-word-platform/), platforms matter—and that isn't changing soon.

As I move closer to [taking a break from long-form writing](https://www.philsimon.com/looking-to-teach-as-a-visiting-professor-in-2016/) for a while, it's comforting to know that at least one of my books hit the nail on the head.