Andrew Chen has been writing "brain dumps" on X about the lost Web 2.0 art of designing viral loops for software. This week, we're bringing you the first in the essay series.
The equation is simple and attribution straightforward enough if there’s a system in place. Choosing where to spend energy to prevent viral blips that become self-fulfilling outcomes for users is the tricky part.
Founders see a viral moment and think it’s a signal of PMF. It could be, but the data isn’t in the spike, it’s in the behavior in the weeks that follow.
Timely! Working on exactly this for a daily geo game I advise. They had for too long relied on loyal cohort of users, who were slowly but surely decreasing. Now we are trying to energise particular cohorts of players who view it more of a social experience that a solo endeavour.
The equation is simple and attribution straightforward enough if there’s a system in place. Choosing where to spend energy to prevent viral blips that become self-fulfilling outcomes for users is the tricky part.
Founders see a viral moment and think it’s a signal of PMF. It could be, but the data isn’t in the spike, it’s in the behavior in the weeks that follow.
Yeah, trying to not get too excited about initial results as we watch to see if the numbers sustain a few weeks/loops
Timely! Working on exactly this for a daily geo game I advise. They had for too long relied on loyal cohort of users, who were slowly but surely decreasing. Now we are trying to energise particular cohorts of players who view it more of a social experience that a solo endeavour.
This feels like a great update to some of the thoughts in Cold Start.
Web2.0, Web2.0 mobile, Web3.0 - I’ve built thousands of products across these eras. But none of them ever truly moved me.
Only now, with Intelligent Blockchain, I feel that spark - because this time, it isn’t just another product.
It’s a living system, a reflection of how the universe itself connects, evolves, and breathes.
@sethAGILayer
, https://seth.app