Editing Network effect (section)

==Open versus closed standards==
{{More citations needed section|date=March 2018}}
In communication and information technologies, [[open standard]]s and interfaces are often developed through the participation of multiple companies and are usually perceived to provide mutual benefit.  But, in cases in which the relevant communication protocols or interfaces are closed standards, the network effect can give the company controlling those standards monopoly power. The [[Microsoft]] corporation is widely seen by computer professionals as maintaining its monopoly through these means. One observed method Microsoft uses to put the network effect to its advantage is called [[Embrace, extend and extinguish]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/f2600/2613.htm|title=US Department of Justice Proposed Findings of Fact|website=Usdoj.gov|date=14 August 2015|access-date=2016-04-28|archive-date=2012-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103181458/http://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/f2600/2613.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Mirabilis (company)|Mirabilis]] is an Israeli start-up which pioneered [[instant messaging]] (IM) and was bought by [[AOL|America Online]]. By giving away their [[ICQ]] product [[Free as in beer|for free]] and preventing interoperability between their client [[software]] and other products, they were able to temporarily dominate the market for instant messaging. The IM technology has completed the use from the home to the workplace, because of its faster processing speed and simplified process characteristics. Because of the network effect, new IM users gained much more value by choosing to use the Mirabilis system (and join its large network of users) than they would use a competing system. As was typical for that era, the company never made any attempt to generate profits from its dominant position before selling the company.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Chordas|first1=Lori|last2=Thompson|first2=Erick|last3=Vondrick|first3=Glen|date=2003-07-01|title=Instant connection|journal=Best's Review|publisher=Oldwick: A.M. Best Company|volume=104|issue=3|pages=100|issn=1527-5914|eissn=2161-282X}}</ref>