Network Effect
The network effect happens when the value of a product or service increases as more people use that product or service. This can be one of the most potent sources of competitive advantages for a company: more users make the product more valuable, and this attracts even more users, creating a virtuous cycle of self-sustaining growth.
Social Network
Many Internet companies operate under this parading, it wouldn´t make much sense to have a Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) account if you were the only person in the social network. But that´s not the case at all, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has as much as 1.15 billion users, which means there is a high probability you will find many of your friends, family, and people you enjoy on the social network. The more the merrier, and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has become the leading social network on the planet, which is a huge competitive asset for the company.
In fact, it has become so big and relevant that many people feel they need to have a Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) account even if they don´t really enjoy using the service much. Facebook is becoming the de facto way to organize events, share photos or to congratulate someone on their birthdays. If everyone else has a Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) account, you need to have one too, if only to stay in touch and connected.
Once a social network is successfully growing, the big challenge is monetizing the user base without hurting the user experience too much, and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) seems to be making progress in that direction since the company delivered a 25% increase in average revenue per user for the last quarter, driven mostly by a whopping sequential rise of 75% in mobile advertising revenue.
Organizing the World’s Information
Few companies capitalize the network effect as well as Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG). The online search giants feeds itself with the information provided by its users, so the more we use services like Search, Gmail, Chrome and YouTube, among others, the better those services get. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) attracts more users because it provides good services, and it provides better services because it has a growing user base.
That´s why the company doesn´t mind providing it’s tremendously popular services for free, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) makes big fat cash flows from online advertising, and every time we use its services we also supply the company with valuable information it uses to reinforce the quality of those services and strengthen its competitive position.
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) even builds some high quality applications for iOS, strengthening Apple´s competitive position in mobile. The search giant wants everyone to use its services and apps, no matter who makes money on the devices as long as Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) can profit from advertising and from the value of information. Leaving privacy concerns aside, that´s a great business model to have.
