Nick Srnicek
1982
Canadian theorist who explained digital platforms as a business model: mediate, and keep the data from both sides.
Srnicek classified platforms — advertising, cloud, industrial, product and lean — and showed what they share: they neither manufacture nor deliver the service, they place themselves between those who do and those who use it, and they keep the record of every transaction.
In the city this shows up in delivery, transport and short-term rentals: the platform owns no cars, no couriers and no flats, yet sets the price and the conditions for all three. His uncomfortable thesis is that the tendency towards monopoly is not a flaw in the model but its natural form.
On Nick Srnicek in this archive
- Urban AI
Platform Urbanism: Transformations and Challenges in Modern Cities
Platform urbanism has emerged as a new trend in the organization and transformation of modern cities.
Nick Srnicek 3 min read - Urban AI
Automation and Urban Inequality: Challenges and Opportunities
Automation is profoundly transforming cities by introducing advanced technologies that change how services are…
Nick Srnicek 1 min read - Urban economy
Platform Economy and Labor Transformation in Cities
The platform economy, also known as the **gig economy**, has revolutionized the labor and economic landscape of…
Nick Srnicek 3 min read
