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.

shower thoughts that could end quarantine..

Limits of composite functions | Limits and continuity | AP Calculus AB | Khan Academy

View All

Volume density

In this video, we’re going to talk a little bit about density, and we’re especially going to talk about density in the context of volume. One simple way to think about density is it’s a quantity of something, and we’re going to think about examples of it …

Iceland’s Glaciers - 360 | Into Water

Glaciers are natural wonders. They’re shapeshifters, wild and alive. They hold the keys to the secrets of humanity’s past and humanity’s future. I’m Dr. M. Jackson. I am a geographer, a climatologist, and a National Geographic Explorer. For over a thousa…

Got Bees? Meet a Swarm Chaser Up for the Challenge | Short Film Showcase

[Music] [Music] [Music] Hello! Oh gosh, do you have some bees? Okay, so are the bees outside? Are they hanging on a tree, or like, where are the bees at? You know, as a child, I spent a lot of time crafting and making miniatures. I think that that ties i…

The Cartoon Laws of Physics | StarTalk

So we’re talking about animation here, and, uh, some of the earliest concepts of animation. There’s a drawing on a, is it an N in Iran, where it shows several images that, in sequence, is a moving animal. Yeah, it’s a leaping animal. It’s so we’ve been …

Ever wondered about those “We Buy Houses - Fast Cash!” signs?

Have you ever wondered about those “We Buy Houses Fast Cash” signs you see stapled to telephone poles? Well, wonder no longer! We’ve all seen it. You’re driving through a freeway off-ramp, you’re going through a rough neighborhood, or you stopped at a red…

Ben Silbermann at Startup School 2012

Well, first thanks a lot for having me. Um, it’s really exciting for me to be here in front of like so many people that all want to build cool things. I was getting ready for the talk last night, and I was going back through old emails because sometimes …

Virality and network effects drive organic growth.

More Articles