The real value of Facebook and Instagram was in their network effects—the momentum they gained as more people joined. Even if someone enjoyed using an Instagram competitor like Path more, if their friends weren’t on it, they wouldn’t stay. (Path shut down in 2018 after selling to a South Korean company, Daum Kakao, three years before.) Zuckerberg understood that the hardest part of creating a business would be creating a new habit for users and a group they all wanted to spend time with.
Real value of social media
