I wrote an article titled "Platforms are for Suckers" back in June, 2010. Fred jumped in the comments and wrote:

http://spencerfry.com/platforms-are-for-suckers#c-2172711

"spencer

i don't totally agree with you

clearly the web is the platform you want to be building on long term

but building on platforms can get you to scale more quickly and less expensively than building on the open web

if you asked mark pincus if he'd have built zynga on facebook if he could start all over, he'd say yes without even thinking about it

if you asked betaworks if they'd have built bit.ly on twitter if they could start all over, they'd say yes without even thinking about it

if you asked howard lindzon if he'd have built stocktwits on twitter before moving to the open web, he's say yes without even thinking about it

the trick is to understand that platforms are a means to an end not an end in themselves"

I think his comments above may flesh out the point he made on stage (although I didn't see the live video so I can't say for sure).