Excellent article, though the headline looked a bit flamebaity at first.
The author's main point: the growth of a network's value can be better approximated by n log(n) than by Metcalfe's n²-n.
Looking at online communities and social networks, I would even go so far as to say that their value function looks more like a bell curve (taking into account negative factors like spam, scoundrels and stupidity). Anybody still on Usenet?
The author's main point: the growth of a network's value can be better approximated by n log(n) than by Metcalfe's n²-n.
Looking at online communities and social networks, I would even go so far as to say that their value function looks more like a bell curve (taking into account negative factors like spam, scoundrels and stupidity). Anybody still on Usenet?