Ethereum, the platform, was formulated by Vitalik Buterin. The cryptocurrency of the platform is called Ether. Vitalik envisaged a system that was flexible and allowed developers to create and build a diverse range of applications based on blockchain technology. In its white paper, it was stated 

“The intent of Ethereum is to create an alternative protocol for building decentralized applications, providing a different set of tradeoffs that we believe will be very useful for a large class of decentralized applications, with particular emphasis on situations where rapid development time, security for small and rarely used applications, and the ability of different applications to very efficiently interact, are important.” 

Vitalik and the other co-founders of Ethereum; Alise, Di Lorio and Hoskins, set about working to create a platform that utilised blockchain technology in a way not limited to financial use and application. They wanted to create a system that leveraged the capabilities of blockchain technology to positively impact as many facets of life as possible. Their platform was going to provide the framework to make this possible. This being opposed to the "narrower" Bitcoin platform which was focused on providing a peer to peer paperless electronic cash system to facilitate payments across the internet. The difference also extended to their respective blockchains too. The purpose of the Bitcoin blockchain being, to record ownership of the cryptocurrency. The Ethereum blockchain has the expanded benefit of being capable of creating an environment whereby code could be run on the platform. This platform being the Ethereum Virtual Machine where the scripts are executed.  

The Ethereum Virtual Machine allows any individual to create any type of program that can take advantage of the benefits of blockchain technology and it then runs it on the Ethereum Network. Thus, as a developer you do not need to build a new blockchain for every application you create. Just use Ethereum's platform.  

In 2016 a unique incident occurred, US$50 million was stolen from The DAO (Digital autonomous organisation, an investor led venture capital fund) due to a flaw in the DAO software (not the Ethereum platform itself). The Ethereum community was at a crossroads, perform a "hard fork" which had the result of recovering the funds by changing the code via a smart contract and giving those affected an opportunity to recover their funds. On the other hand, due to the philosophy of what a blockchain does and how a critical feature is its lack on centrality, the losses merely be accepted and the community move on. A vote was conducted and the community decided to embrace the hard fork which righted the wrongs but at the cost of undermining what made blockchain technology so appealing. The consequence of this was that Ethereum split into Ethereum as we know it today, and Ethereum classic. Their differences being in their blockchains from the moment the exploit occurred. 

Despite this, developments continue with Ether and its blockchain technology; The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance is a platform consisting of multiple Fortune 500 companies who seek to leverage the Ethereum platform to their advantage. The various companies working together to provide a framework that best suits Enterprise and the technology and push the industry forward. 

Ethereum as a platform is highly exciting. It seems capable of creating many opportunities for those with minds creative enough to exploit what the technology offers.