Platforms
A Critical Introduction

Anne Helmond (Author), Fernando van der Vlist (Author)

9781509568109, Polity Press

Hardback, published 5 June 2026

240 pages
21.8 x 14 x 2.3 cm, 0.454 kg

"Helmond and van der Vlist are gifted teachers who help students and faculty find their way in the burgeoning field of platform studies. Platforms is a timely and much-needed book to help us understand the rapidly changing online environment."
José van Dijck, Utrecht University

"This should be the first book you read on platforms. Helmond and van der Vlist provide a masterful introduction and critical guide to understanding plaforms. A must-read for students and scholars alike."
Marc Steinberg, Concordia University

From Instagram and Uber to Alibaba and ChatGPT, platforms shape nearly every aspect of life. They influence the ways we communicate, work, study, shop, vote, and connect. But what exactly are platforms? How do they work and how did they become so powerful?

Platforms offers a critical introduction to platforms and platformisation. Written by two leading experts, the book explains how platforms operate as companies, as services, and as technologies or infrastructures. Drawing on real-world examples, Anne Helmond and Fernando van der Vlist unpack key concepts such as platform power, governance, and strategy. They demonstrate that platforms shape economies, cultures, and institutions, and reveal their power to generate value, influence public life, and create new forms of dependence and control. Pedagogical features and practical approaches to analysing platforms are also provided.

Accessible, timely, and grounded in global perspectives, this book is a must-read for students and scholars across the social sciences and the humanities, as well as for policymakers and anyone who seeks to understand the role of platforms in our world.

Lists of tables and figures
Acknowledgements

1. Introduction: Platforms in culture and society
2. Understanding platforms
3. Profit and power
4. Governance and regulation
5. Conclusion and outlook

Glossary
Notes
References
Index

Subject Areas: Society & culture: general [JF]