I'd like to talk a bit about network effect and it's place within design. Technology has made the world closer and more connected than ever before, and as designers we need to be well aware of network effect and how it can make or break a product. Network effect is the value adding properties a user can add to a good or service. For example one of the most basic examples of network effect are telephones; a telephone is only useful if you can call someone who also has a telephone. Facebook's attractiveness to a prospective user is it's extensive network of people he or she may know. Some of my favorite websites take advantage of this network effect.
One of my favorite sites for news is reddit.com, it's a user generated news site in which users post links to news articles or funny tidbits from the internet. Users then vote these posts up or down and they are placed on the website in accordance to their popularity. Its amazing how much content is posted, as well as how fast breaking news finds itself on the front page. All of this is done without paying a single reporter or cameraman, its a prime example of taking advantage of network effect. Another website that I love to visit is hypem.com. Hype Machine is an aggregation website that scours through popular music blogs. Users can listen to mp3's through an embedded player and likewise to reddit, can upvote or downvote the songs. Through this website I've been able to find great new artists and remixes without any real effort on my part.
The difficulty in taking advantage of this network effect is getting the network started in the first place. How can we design products and services to reach this critical mass or tipping point where network effect can be realized? This is were early adopters are incredibly important. One can achieve this externally through promotions, advertisement, and early adoption incentives. However the most effective way to gain critical mass is to produce something of value even without the network effect. Perhaps the service or product is not as powerful without the network, but keep in mind to design aspects of the product that are valuable while in solidarity to entice early adopters. If you can design these solitary features exceptionally well, then early adopters will follow and generate the needed buzz towards critical mass.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I'm gonna have to agree about Hype Machine. Awesome site. I've found so much music that I probably would never have heard had I not used Hype Machine. In fact, there's probably way too much music to get through. I also like how it allows you to follow certain blogs and keep track of the songs that you "loved."
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't already, check out the Calling in Sick remix of Fun Punch. So good.
I like the site recommendations. I also like the thoughts here. I've never really wondered who the first twitterers were, but I have thought about who the first owners of fax machines and other network effect beneficiaries might have been. There just needs to be a few early adopters, such as universities, the government, or businesses that need to send documents to each other. Once others see the benefits of the product or service they can jump on the bandwagon and a community can be formed.
ReplyDeleteAnother way to spread the word is to use other communities. If I were to start a service that needed multiple people to be effective I'd start with facebook and try to get my friends to join, ask them to invite their friends, etc.