Network Effects 101

Ravi Belani, Stanford University

To explain the concept of network effects, Stanford Department of Management Science and Engineering lecturer Ravi Belani contrasts Facebook with Angry Birds. Both grew rapidly in terms of users, but Angry Birds’ emphasis on a single-player mode meant that its revenue grew in a linear fashion relative to its customers. On the other hand, Facebook’s revenue grew exponentially due to the exploding value of its network.