How eBay, launched in 1995 as AuctionWeb, anticipated many of the key features that would define a “platform” and unlocked the profit potential of the internet (Ben Tarnoff/The Guardian)

Ben Tarnoff / The Guardian:
How eBay, launched in 1995 as AuctionWeb, anticipated many of the key features that would define a “platform” and unlocked the profit potential of the internet  —  The story of the modern web is often told through the stories of Google, Facebook, Amazon.  But eBay was the first conqueror