Open protocols win because they can improve without permission. Closed platforms die because they have to make money to keep themselves alive. Closed platforms have to grow at all costs to capture as many users as possible. If they don't manage they will be eaten up by competition. If they do manage they inevitably crumble under their own weight. The experience has to get worse because they have to squeeze captured users & imprison them so they can't run away. They will also inevitably be captured, be it by political or corporate interests. Open protocols can grow slowly and steadily, or occupy a certain niche until they are perfectly adapted for it. They don't have to grow at all costs, and die only if interest goes to zero. As long as two people use a protocol it is alive. Interoperability allows users to leave at any time with near-zero exit cost, meaning that clients have to compete on merit, not on capture. With closed platforms, "capture everyone" is the name of the game. It's a finite, zero-sum game. With open protocols, symbiosis & cooperation is a better strategy. Positive sum. Everybody wins. View quoted note →