YouTube brings video creators and viewers together. KickStarter brings those seeking funding together with investors. eBay brings buyers and sellers together and facilitates transactions. Quora helps users interact to ask and answer questions. Twitter, WhatsApp, Airbnb, Uber, Wikipedia, PayPal, the list goes on…

These are examples of products that connect “those that produce something” with “those that consume something”? If your product fits this general definition, welcome to the world of Product Platforms.

Without users, there’s no value and without value, users just won’t show up. So how do you solve this problem and manage for growth?
When it comes to platforms, the technology often isn’t the reason people use it. Let’s talk about the product management of real value creation that will lead to platform success, whether you have millions of users or just starting out.

The heart of this discussion includes the use of platform metrics to manage this business model and ultimately lead product managers to drive tangible platform growth.