An important aspect of understanding your business ecosystem is knowing your position within it (positioning), whether you hold a higher or lower (subordinate) role, and whether your offerings are substitutes or complements. Netflix started as a DVD rental service. With the rise of online streaming, Netflix saw it as a replacement for DVD rentals. Kimbap and Ramen are complementary goods, but Ramen and Udon are substitutes. This is why, even when setting up a snack bar, paying attention to the menu is crucial. Complementary goods increase sales, while substitutes are more likely to lead to no change or even a decline in sales. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
Advertising is a unique service business. When limited to the Internet, platform operators gather users and allow them to access the platform for free in exchange for viewing advertisements. In reality, users are not accessing the platform for free; instead, the advertiser pays for it. In other words, users do not fulfill any obligations regarding platform use, while the advertiser assumes those obligations and gains profit by notifying and exposing itself to the user. The platform operator fulfills its obligation by providing the advertising medium to the advertiser, but does not guarantee the advertisement’s success and is not accountable for the outcomes of the business. Advertising represents one of the few unique transaction structures in the world that satisfies the utility of each party without necessarily attributing benefits to the counterparty meant to receive them. Such an unusual transaction structure has been rare throughout human history. Although the advertising in...