What is a platform?
As per Encyclopedia.com's definition, the literal meaning of the word platform is a raised level surface on which people or things can stand (https://www.encyclopedia.com/science-and-technology/computers-and-electrical-engineering/computers-and-computing/platform). It makes sense as a broader concept that a platform is an avenue for people or things to carry out crucial tasks. The word platform has different meanings in different industries and fields—for example, in the railway industry, construction, public speaking, and so on.
But one common thing in all the definitions of a platform is that a platform enables some core activities to occur. This brings me to the most precise and simple definition I have read of a platform: a platform is something that allows something else to happen. A platform is something that is foundational, enables people to undertake core activities, and helps connect different entities together. In terms of a platform in a public speaking context, a speaker can connect to the audience through a platform. Similarly, a train can connect to passengers via a platform, and a construction worker undertakes their core activities through a platform.
This analogy can also be applied to digital businesses, whereby a platform enables the core activities of the business and connects different entities; for example, in e-commerce platforms, sellers and consumers connect with each other, and the platform enables them to accomplish the core activity of selling and consuming goods. Similarly, in an audio-streaming platform, artists and listeners come together to share and listen to music. Similarly, in a payment-processing platform, banks or credit card companies connect with vendors to enable seamless money transfer.
A critical feature of a platform is that it allows a web of multiple channels to connect and perform core activities, not just two parties that connect linearly. For example, once a platform is built in an auditorium, all the speakers using the auditorium can address the crowd from one platform; we do not have to build a different stage (platform) for every speaker.
Another example here is a railway platform that, once built, is used by all the trains and passengers traveling to and from that station. The same is true for the digital world; multiple sellers can sell on an e-commerce platform, and many artists can upload their music on an audio-streaming platform. We will explore this multidimensional approach and a platform's network effect in more detail while discussing the characteristics of a platform business model.
