Network Effects: The Bigger Your Community, the More Valuable It Becomes

At Harvard and other elite colleges, digital communities initially grew one friend at a time. But growth didn’t just rise linearly—it accelerated as each new member signed up, especially those whose relationships spanned cliques, houses, or activity groups. Academics call this the ‘network effect’: every additional participant makes the whole network more useful. One student’s presence isn’t just valuable for herself—it lets all her friends connect with her, and their friends as well, creating new opportunities for conversation, collaboration, and discovery.

Mathematician Dustin Moskovitz even ran a statistics project to confirm this: most students were within just two degrees of one another. That meant new features—like group messages or collaborative study tools—immediately became more powerful as the campus network grew. A meme or a study tip shared in one group might ripple quickly across other academic or social circles once a ‘connector’ was involved. The cycle spun faster as participation climbed. Behavioral economists later noted that services with network effects—like phones or multiplayer games—don’t just draw new users; they draw loyalty, creativity, and deeper engagement.

This mechanism works in any sphere, not just social networks. Leveraging key connectors, fostering easy invitations, and prioritizing inclusivity at every stage multiplies a community’s value for everyone. The more intentional you are in nurturing diversity and connection, the greater the compound benefit for all.

Find those people who naturally link different groups within your community or organization, and get them involved right away in your next initiative. Encourage them to bring their friends—remind everyone that each person’s involvement brings new knowledge, energy, and usefulness for the group as a whole. By making participation welcoming and easy, you’ll set the stage for a self-reinforcing cycle: the bigger your network becomes, the better it works for everybody in it. Reach out to a connector and start building today.