1) List several products or services subject to network effects. What factors do you believe helped each of these efforts achieve dominance?
2) Think about the kinds of technology projects you own. What sorts of switching costs are inherent in each of these? Are these strong switching costs or weak switching costs? What would it take for you to leave one of these services and use a rival? How might a competitor try to lessen these switching costs to persuade you to adopt their product?
3) What are the reasons it is so difficult for late-moving, incompatible rivals to compete in markets where a dominant, proprietary standard is present? What is technological leap-frogging and why is it so difficult to accomplish?
4) What tactic might an established firm employ to make it impossible, or at least difficult, for a competitor to gain access to, or become compatible with, their product or service?
5) How do Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook encourage the development of complementary products?