# Platform power ![1409482831\_thumb](https://storage.googleapis.com/scvo-cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/1409482831_thumb.jpeg) There's a lot of talk at the moment about [platform thinking](http://www.wired.com/2014/01/platform-thinking-approach-innovation/) and the [sharing economy](http://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/making-sense-uk-collaborative-economy). I think there's huge potential for us to bring these concepts to bear on good causes and democratic renewal, and we'll be exploring these themes through our new SCVO Labs venture. In the meantime I was curious about how people at SCVO experience the digital world, so at our last all-staff awayday I asked people to nominate their favourite digital platforms. We took a loose definition of "platform" - broadly speaking, somewhere that people are able to easily contribute or participate (for example sharing content or leaving comments) rather than just being a consumer of content. One heap of markers and sticky notes later, here's what we found. #### The top five No big surprises here, these are all household names and platforms that count their users in the hundreds of millions. * [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/) * [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/) * [Amazon](http://www.amazon.co.uk/) * [Instagram](https://instagram.com/) * [Twitter](https://twitter.com/) #### The runners up All reasonably well known, though a few are more domain-specific (e.g. music, holidays) than the top five. * [SoundCloud](https://soundcloud.com/) * [Gumtree](http://www.gumtree.com/) * [eBay](http://www.ebay.co.uk/) * [Spotify](https://www.spotify.com/) * [TripAdvisor](http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/) * [Reddit](http://www.reddit.com/) * [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/) #### The long tail And now it gets interesting! There's lots of diversity in the rest of the list, which reflects the wide variety of interests that people have. * [Origin](https://www.origin.com/) * [Third Force News](http://thirdforcenews.org.uk/) * [Groupon](http://www.groupon.co.uk/) * [Coursera](https://www.coursera.org/) * [Change.org](https://www.change.org/) * [Etsy](https://www.etsy.com/) * [IMdB](http://www.imdb.com/) * [Goodreads](http://www.goodreads.com/) * [Vimeo](https://vimeo.com/) * [Pipes | Drums](https://www.pipesdrums.com/) * [Ancestry](http://www.ancestry.co.uk/) * [Rotten Tomatoes](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/) * [Behance](https://www.behance.net/) * [Celtic Quick News](http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/) * [SongSearch](http://uk.search.ccli.com/) * [Google+](https://plus.google.com/) * [Meetup](http://www.meetup.com/) * [Stack Overflow](http://stackoverflow.com/) * [8Tracks](http://8tracks.com/) * [Mumsnet](http://www.mumsnet.com/) * [Not On The High Street](http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/) * [23snaps](https://www.23snaps.com/) * [JustGiving](https://www.justgiving.com) None of this is very scientific, but nevertheless it's pretty clear that, for many of us, digital platforms are just another part of our day-to-day lives. This is hugely exciting for those of us who want to harness the power of digital platforms for innovation and social good. If you'd like to join the conversation then come [find me on Twitter](https://twitter.com/clry2). --- ## About SCVO SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations) is the national membership organisation for Scotland's voluntary sector. Our role is to champion the role of voluntary organisations in Scotland and to support them to do work that has a positive impact. SCVO supports members and the wider voluntary sector with all aspects of setting up and running a voluntary organisation. SCVO represents the needs and concerns of the voluntary sector to the Scottish government in Holyrood and UK government and Westminster. Through our learning and events programme SCVO offers training and development opportunities to the sector. Members access an extensive membership benefits package including specialist, in-depth, 1-to-1 guidance from our Information Services team and from professional service partners. Access to exclusive membership networks (including comms, employers, governance and policy) supports members to grow their connections, stay up to date, exchange ideas and views with peers, and learn through tailored learning opportunities. SCVO members enjoy free access to Funding Scotland Premium to stay on top of funding opportunities to support their organisation’s financial resilience. Discounts and savings on SCVO products and services (including our HR service, managed IT support, payroll service and events and training) and partner offers provide members with support to allow them to focus on delivering their organisation’s goals. Further SCVO products and services include [extensive digital support](https://scvo.scot/support/digital), a climate action resource [Growing Climate Confidence](https://climateconfident.scot), a voluntary sector publication [Third Force News](https://tfn.scot) and a voluntary sector jobs and recruitment service [Goodmoves](https://goodmoves.org). For more information on SCVO membership, visit [SCVO membership](https://scvo.scot/membership)