A successful network effect requires both a product and its network, and that was true in the age of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company, and true today. For Uber, the “product” is the app that people run on their phones, and the “network” refers to all the active users at any given time who are connecting with Uber to drive or ride. (There’s no physical wiring, in this case!) In contemporary parlance, the product is typically made of software whereas the network is typically made of people.
