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I've done a lot of these January 1st look forward posts in the 20+ years I've been blogging. I've used many different approaches. I sometimes talk big themes, like I did last year. I sometimes focus on just one thing. And sometimes I just make a bunch of predictions. I am going to do the latter approach today because I feel like it and it's so much fun. 1/ Apple and Google will leverage their existing market power to surpass OpenAI/ChatGPT in consumer AI prompts by the end of 2025. 2/ Waymo w...
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On Tuesday, I had my @fredwilson account taken over.I haven't used that account for almost eighteen months, but it has almost 700,000 followers and h...
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AVCNetwork Density
AVCWhat Will Happen In 2025
I've done a lot of these January 1st look forward posts in the 20+ years I've been blogging. I've used many different approaches. I sometimes talk big themes, like I did last year. I sometimes focus on just one thing. And sometimes I just make a bunch of predictions. I am going to do the latter approach today because I feel like it and it's so much fun. 1/ Apple and Google will leverage their existing market power to surpass OpenAI/ChatGPT in consumer AI prompts by the end of 2025. 2/ Waymo w...
AVCStartup Mortality Rates
A friend of mine stopped by the USV office the other morning and asked me about startup mortality rates. Her business sells to startups a...
AVCAnatomy Of A Twitter/X Account Takeover Hack
On Tuesday, I had my @fredwilson account taken over.I haven't used that account for almost eighteen months, but it has almost 700,000 followers and h...
I have written a bit about our portfolio company Blackbird but in case you didn't read any of those posts, Blackbird is a loyalty and payment network for the hospitality sector. You earn Fly and you pay with Fly. The more you pay with Fly, the more Fly you earn. Pretty simple and pretty awesome. Blackbird is currently available in NYC, SF, and Charleston South Carolina. If you live in or visit these cities, you can download Blackbird here.
I was using the Blackbird app this week and took a look at the "Where to Blackbird" map in the app and saw this:
I have written a bit about our portfolio company Blackbird but in case you didn't read any of those posts, Blackbird is a loyalty and payment network for the hospitality sector. You earn Fly and you pay with Fly. The more you pay with Fly, the more Fly you earn. Pretty simple and pretty awesome. Blackbird is currently available in NYC, SF, and Charleston South Carolina. If you live in or visit these cities, you can download Blackbird here.
I was using the Blackbird app this week and took a look at the "Where to Blackbird" map in the app and saw this:
When you are building a network, density matters a lot. Whether it is a social network, a real world network (like Blackbird), or some other kind, the value of the network goes up massively as density increases.
Metcalf's Law says that the value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of users on it. Whether that is exactly right or just directionally right, it is clear that network value is non-linear and that more is better. In a real world network, it is not just more, but more in the right places. Which is why density matters so much.
The Blackbird team launched the network in lower Manhattan and have been building it out in ever larger circles since launch. The result is a very dense network where they launched and increasing density in adjacent neighborhoods.
The wrong thing would have been to launch Blackbird globally all at once. Having one venue in NYC, one in Paris, one in Dubai, and one in Singapore would have been useless. But four on the same block in the Manhattan's West Village created initial utility for everyone on and around that block.
If you are building a network, you need to be intentional and strategic about where you launch it and how you grow it. More is better. But density is key. So get some density and go from there.
When you are building a network, density matters a lot. Whether it is a social network, a real world network (like Blackbird), or some other kind, the value of the network goes up massively as density increases.
Metcalf's Law says that the value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of users on it. Whether that is exactly right or just directionally right, it is clear that network value is non-linear and that more is better. In a real world network, it is not just more, but more in the right places. Which is why density matters so much.
The Blackbird team launched the network in lower Manhattan and have been building it out in ever larger circles since launch. The result is a very dense network where they launched and increasing density in adjacent neighborhoods.
The wrong thing would have been to launch Blackbird globally all at once. Having one venue in NYC, one in Paris, one in Dubai, and one in Singapore would have been useless. But four on the same block in the Manhattan's West Village created initial utility for everyone on and around that block.
If you are building a network, you need to be intentional and strategic about where you launch it and how you grow it. More is better. But density is key. So get some density and go from there.
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8 comments
on network density, this is a great short read https://avc.xyz/network-density
Hi Casters. I wrote about Network Density this morning using our portfolio company Blackbird as an example. https://avc.xyz/network-density
I’ve been following Blackbird, keeping an eye on the new features they’re adding and their Dune dashboard (hope they make it to Europe in 1-2y) It’s great to see how they’re growing, and as you mentioned, to grow in the right direction. One key aspect of building that network density is their tokenomics. Scaling it carefully is crucial to creating a circular economy within the network
i could not agree more about the importance of creating a real economy
mfw chicago still not mentioned because not dense enough yet T_T all facts tho, excited to see some more restaurants adapt in chicago so we can get some density going here i also wanna steal opentable and tock users but that's a different thread...
I’m licking my lips…
Thirsty Parched Lfg
Yeah I think they've done a great job so far (and NYC is probably the perfect market to start in given the restaurant scene here). The density helps a lot with habit building as well: rather than just a one-off thing at some restaurant you go to, it's more likely that you see a Blackbird puck again and go "oh I know what to do" which benefits both the consumers and the restaurants.