Virality and network effects drive organic growth.

less than 1m read

·Nov 3, 2024

The best consumer companies incorporate both virality and network effect, which are different concepts but very closely related, in order to grow their user base organically.

Virality is the idea that one user using your product introduces it to other users somehow in the use of your product, whereas network effect is the idea that the product gets better the more nodes in the network exist.

I'll give you an example from Facebook's early days. So, when you took a picture on Facebook and uploaded it, you were prompted to tag your friends, even if they weren't already on Facebook. Those friends would get an email saying, "Hey, someone's tagged a photo of you; sign up to view the photo." That's a viral mechanic.

By uploading the photo and tagging your friends, you spread it to new users. A network effect comes from Metcalfe's Law: the value of the network is the square of the nodes in a network.

What that basically means is the more people who use this thing, the more valuable it gets. So, WhatsApp is a great example of this.

Inflation Just Hit a 13-Year High and Investors Are Worried

The Sea Otter's Enchanted Forest | America's National Parks

View All

The "Most Money Raised" game

One of those stupid games sometimes people play is just how much money can I raise. What’s the stupid prize? If you play the “raids as much as you can” game often, you lose control of your company. So, like, when you confront the challenges, suddenly you…

This is the World’s Most Expensive Spice | National Geographic

[Music] [Music] This is a farm in Horizonte’s in north-east of Iran. Saffron is known as the most valuable plant in the world and has been growing in Iran for thousands of years. Saffron stems from Iran’s history, knowledge, and experience. Aboard, saffro…

My 2 Worst Investments EVER

Hey guys, welcome back to the channel! In this video, we’re going to be talking about literally my two worst investments ever. It’s kind of funny; sometimes in the YouTube comments, I’ll get a comment which is something like, “Oh, Brandon, you’re very qu…

Trig limit using pythagorean identity | Limits and continuity | AP Calculus AB | Khan Academy

Let’s see if we can find the limit as theta approaches 0 of ( \frac{1 - \cos(\theta)}{2 \sin^2(\theta)} ). And like always, pause the video and see if you could work through this. Alright, well our first temptation is to say, well, this is going to be th…

A Mexican Wolf Pup’s Journey into the Wild | Podcast | Overheard at National Geographic

Foreign [Music] This is what it sounds like to explore New Mexico’s Gila Wilderness on horseback. On a recent assignment for National Geographic, I got to venture deep into the Gila with a photographer, podcast producer, and a backcountry guide. The Gila …

Examples of bias in surveys | Study design | AP Statistics | Khan Academy

We’re told that David hosts a podcast, and he’s curious how much his listeners like his show. He decides to start with an online poll. He asks his listeners to visit his website and participate in the poll. The poll shows that 89 percent of about 200 resp…

Virality and network effects drive organic growth.

More Articles