--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you're going to build something, don't…" description: "\"If you're going to build something, don't build on land someone else already owns. You want your own land, your own domain, your own sovereignty. Troub..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/john-battelle-7041_anyway_if-you-re-going-to-build-something-don-t_1443336.png" --- # If you're going to build something, don't build on land… ![“If you're going to build something, don't build on land someone else already owns. You want your own land, your own domain, your own sovereignty. Trouble is, so much of the choice land - the land where all the people are - is already owned by someone else: By Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…” quote by John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/john-battelle-7041_anyway_if-you-re-going-to-build-something-don-t_1443336.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/john-battelle-7041_anyway_if-you-re-going-to-build-something-don-t_1443336.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/john-battelle-7041_anyway_if-you-re-going-to-build-something-don-t_1443336.png) > “If you're going to build something, don't build on land someone else already owns. You want your own land, your own domain, your own sovereignty. Trouble is, so much of the choice land - the land where all the people are - is already owned by someone else: By Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yahoo, and Apple (in apps, anyway).” [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Building a platform requires owning your own space; relying on others' ecosystems limits control and autonomy. **In simple terms:** Own your platform, don’t depend on others. Key Takeaway Secure independent infrastructure. Themes ownership platform autonomy digital sovereignty Mood cautious strategic Type advisory inspirational When to use this quote - startup launch - product development - digital strategy - entrepreneurship Key Concepts network effects platform economics data control Questions to Reflect On - How can you create a self‑sufficient digital presence? - What risks do you face when using others’ infrastructure? A Different Perspective Relying on third‑party platforms can expose you to policy changes and data loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Domain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domain/) [Facebook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facebook/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Sovereignty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sovereignty/) [Twitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twitter/) ## Related quotes > [If a man owns land, the land owns him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-a-man-owns-land-the-land-owns-him/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [We can meet our destiny, and that destiny to build a land here that will be, for all mankind, a shining city on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/we-can-meet-our-destiny-and-that-destiny-to-build-a-land-here-that/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [America, North and South, is a choice land, a land reserved for God's own purposes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/america-north-and-south-is-a-choice-land-a-land-reserved-for-god-s/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Prior to email, our private correspondence was secured by a government institution called the postal service. Today, we trust AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/prior-to-email-our-private-correspondence-was-secured-by-a-government/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [We want to be with ourselves in a land of our own under the guidance of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/we-want-to-be-with-ourselves-in-a-land-of-our-own-under-the-guidance/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [“But you must be sure of what you want the land for. And as for your tenants, if they don't own the land, don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/but-you-must-be-sure-of-what-you-want-the-land-for-and-as-for-your/) [F. Sionil José](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [Let me do it. You tell me when you want it and where you want it to land, and I'll do it backwards and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-johnson/let-me-do-it-you-tell-me-when-you-want-it-and-where-you-want-it-to/) [Katherine Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-johnson/) > [Conservation is not without its critics and opposition. There are a lot of special interests that don't want to see land set aside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/conservation-is-not-without-its-critics-and-opposition-there-are-a/) [Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) > [I want land where I can keep animals. There's something so simple and wholesome about that kind of life and living off the land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-katona/i-want-land-where-i-can-keep-animals-there-s-something-so-simple-and/) [Kerry Katona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-katona/) > ['Dependent web' platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Google and Yahoo are where people go to discover and share new content. Independent sites are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/dependent-web-platforms-such-as-twitter-facebook-google-and-yahoo-are/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [This is where young players today want to land. They want to be NBA players because of the money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-robertson/this-is-where-young-players-today-want-to-land-they-want-to-be-nba/) [Oscar Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-robertson/) > [When you break it down, Yahoo! is a Very Large Display Advertising business, with a hefty side of search and a bit of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/when-you-break-it-down-yahoo-is-a-very-large-display-advertising/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [As the farmer said, "I'm not greedy, all I want is the land next to mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/as-the-farmer-said-i-m-not-greedy-all-i-want-is-the-land-next-to-mine/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) > [You call yourself what you want to call yourself. This is the land of the free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/you-call-yourself-what-you-want-to-call-yourself-this-is-the-land-of/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The American idea is as promising, imaginative, and full of the unexpected as the land itself. The land represents freedom - the frontier, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/the-american-idea-is-as-promising-imaginative-and-full-of-the/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) ## More by John Battelle > [When good media takes a bounded form, and comes once in a period of time, it begs to be consumed as a whole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/when-good-media-takes-a-bounded-form-and-comes-once-in-a-period-of/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [The 'Occupy' movement seems to have found a central theme to its 2012 movement around overturning 'the corporation as a person,' and some legislators…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/the-occupy-movement-seems-to-have-found-a-central-theme-to-its-2012/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [Increasingly, search is our mechanism for how we understand ourselves, our world, and our place within it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/increasingly-search-is-our-mechanism-for-how-we-understand-ourselves/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [You happily give Facebook terabytes of structured data about yourself, content with the implicit tradeoff that Facebook is going to give you a social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/you-happily-give-facebook-terabytes-of-structured-data-about-yourself/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [We speak of 'software eating the world,' 'the Internet of Things,' and we massify 'data' by declaring it 'Big.' But these concepts remain for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/we-speak-of-software-eating-the-world-the-internet-of-things-and-we/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [Bitcoin woke us all up to a new way to pay, and culturally, I think a much larger percentage of us have become accustomed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/bitcoin-woke-us-all-up-to-a-new-way-to-pay-and-culturally-i-think-a/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [When you bring the scale and precision of data-driven platforms to the brilliance of great media executions, magic will happen. Delivering on that vision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/when-you-bring-the-scale-and-precision-of-data-driven-platforms-to/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [There will soon be streams of data coming from all manner of products - appliances, clothing, sporting goods, you name it. Wouldn't you rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/there-will-soon-be-streams-of-data-coming-from-all-manner-of-products/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [The smart phone isn't a perfect device, as we all know. It forces the world into a tiny screen. It runs out of battery,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/the-smart-phone-isn-t-a-perfect-device-as-we-all-know-it-forces-the/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [The truth is, truly passionate media creators don't get into the media business to make huge gains from spectacular unicorn exits. When it happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/the-truth-is-truly-passionate-media-creators-don-t-get-into-the-media/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [Building out a professional profile on LinkedIn certainly makes sense, and bolstering that CV with intelligent pieces of writing is also a great idea.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/building-out-a-professional-profile-on-linkedin-certainly-makes-sense/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > ['Dependent web' platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Google and Yahoo are where people go to discover and share new content. Independent sites are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/dependent-web-platforms-such-as-twitter-facebook-google-and-yahoo-are/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [I like Diaspora because it's audacious, it's driven by passion, and it's very, very hard to do. After all, who in their right mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/i-like-diaspora-because-it-s-audacious-it-s-driven-by-passion-and-it/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [I've been a Mac guy for almost my entire adult life. I wrote my first college papers on a typewriter, but by the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/i-ve-been-a-mac-guy-for-almost-my-entire-adult-life-i-wrote-my-first/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [As our society tips toward one based on data, our collective decisions around how that data can be used will determine what kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/as-our-society-tips-toward-one-based-on-data-our-collective-decisions/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) [Explore all 95 John Battelle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) ## More Anyway quotes > [You couldn't get me to go travel around and sit in a hotel room again. I have no interest in doing that. So everybody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-everly/you-couldn-t-get-me-to-go-travel-around-and-sit-in-a-hotel-room-again/) [Phil Everly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-everly/) > [“Joe!” he groaned, attempting to speak clearly. “Joe! Good ol’ Joe!” “Captain, you’re drunk!” Lofflin said, stating the obvious while trying to keep his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-engela/joe-he-groaned-attempting-to-speak-clearly-joe-good-ol-joe-captain/) [Christina Engela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-engela/) > [I was a serious competitive figure skater and still ice-skate as much as I can. Anyway, I once brought a date to the rink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-serratos/i-was-a-serious-competitive-figure-skater-and-still-ice-skate-as-much/) [Christian Serratos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-serratos/) > [When we built Roomba, we explicitly designed it to not have a face. We didn't want to think it was cute; we wanted people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-angle/when-we-built-roomba-we-explicitly-designed-it-to-not-have-a-face-we/) [Colin Angle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-angle/) > [I remember talking with Arcade Fire after their first record, when they were getting all kinds of offers from major labels, and I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/i-remember-talking-with-arcade-fire-after-their-first-record-when/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [A supermodel is kind of that first-name recognition, but I'm not quite ready for that super part yet, and I'm afraid that by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-teigen/a-supermodel-is-kind-of-that-first-name-recognition-but-i-m-not-quite/) [Christine Teigen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-teigen/) > [My feeling is, I do a lot of low-budget films. I don't do low-budget acting. I have no interest in just goofballing my way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-henriksen/my-feeling-is-i-do-a-lot-of-low-budget-films-i-don-t-do-low-budget/) [Lance Henriksen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-henriksen/) > [When you sign a contract, that's your deal. Everyone has different deals anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-duggan/when-you-sign-a-contract-that-s-your-deal-everyone-has-different/) [Toni Duggan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-duggan/) > [I think you can move to everything, but with some music, you just want to sit still. That's me, anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chet-faker/i-think-you-can-move-to-everything-but-with-some-music-you-just-want/) [Chet Faker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chet-faker/) > [We'd been noticing how much more important the internet had become - once information is out there in the world now, anyone can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-tweedy/we-d-been-noticing-how-much-more-important-the-internet-had-become/) [Jeff Tweedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-tweedy/) > [If you are playing King Lear you are the centre of attention anyway. You don't need to draw attention to yourself. It's all laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mckellen/if-you-are-playing-king-lear-you-are-the-centre-of-attention-anyway/) [Ian Mckellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mckellen/) > [You're required to be outspoken in journalism, and in television you're exposed anyway, because everyone watches it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peaches-geldof/you-re-required-to-be-outspoken-in-journalism-and-in-television-you/) [Peaches Geldof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peaches-geldof/) > [Anyway, once children get to talk, they seem to be finding ways to joke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-rosen/anyway-once-children-get-to-talk-they-seem-to-be-finding-ways-to-joke/) [Michael Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-rosen/) > [Only in Washington would the Republican operatives get the entire press corps ginned up over the notion that I'm going to be home campaigning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-mccaskill/only-in-washington-would-the-republican-operatives-get-the-entire/) [Claire McCaskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-mccaskill/) > [If you're a coach, you've got to have a lot of confidence in what you're doing. Your egos are so large that you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bud-grant/if-you-re-a-coach-you-ve-got-to-have-a-lot-of-confidence-in-what-you/) [Bud Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bud-grant/) Browse all 370 Anyway quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you're going to build something, don't build on land someone else already owns. You want your own land, your own domain, your own sovereignty. 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