
Come for the tool, stay for the network - hglaser
http://cdixon.org/2015/01/31/come-for-the-tool-stay-for-the-network/
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petercooper
_Some networks never had single-player tools, including gigantic successes
like Facebook and Twitter._

I think he's spot on with the overall piece, but I think Twitter is a fine
example of the principle too. Twitter _was_ a single-player tool for me at the
start. I signed up after hearing about it around SXSW 2006 but there was no-
one I knew on there so I just used it as a personal "microjournal" of sorts
for several months as it was lighter than the Movable Type setup I was then
using (which was amazingly slow at the time). It then _became_ a network for
me as people followed me via my email address.

~~~
chime
I was just about to chime in here regarding Twitter too. I recall it blew up
in 2007 not 2006. Also, the winning factor of Twitter back then was indirect
group texting. Once you signed up for Twitter with your phone, you could send
a text to a specific number and it got blasted out to everyone following you.
Instead of sending 10 texts to 10 friends, you just sent one. Anyone who
bothered to respond, could just directly text your cell or tweet it themselves
to carry on the group conversation. It was great for "Hey, I'm hungry... who
wants Thai?"

~~~
petercooper
I think my memory has created an inaccurate narrative for me. My account shows
I signed up in December 2006 so I guess it wasn't SXSW that got me on after
all :)

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bcjordan
Interesting to think about with respect to Fred Wilson's Dentist Office
Software Story: [http://avc.com/2014/07/the-dentist-office-software-
story/](http://avc.com/2014/07/the-dentist-office-software-story/)

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dlu
Always liked the single player vs multiplayer framework of breaking out
products.

John Gruber's podcast, touches upon this in the recent episode with Ben
Thompson as a guest
[https://daringfireball.net/thetalkshow/2015/01/24/ep-108](https://daringfireball.net/thetalkshow/2015/01/24/ep-108)

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xivzgrev
This sounds like a potential great way to tackle chicken egg problem in
marketplaces. Single player / multiplayer is something I hadn't heard before
but makes it very clear. It might not be feasible (eg what's single player on
car sharing app?) but it's a good thing to think about.

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joshbuddy
It's not merely kindling, if you have a good single player story, it indicates
versatility. This sounds like a good thing to have.

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zabramow
Another good example is how Disqus has layered their tool (better comments
section) to a discovery platform.

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BrandonSmith
Framework could be applied to first-person shooters.

