Well, Groupon used the disruptive tools available to every small- and mid-sized firm to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace and capture that ever-elusive network effect.

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Now, despite the many learned treatises written on the network effect, it remains unpredictable - what decides whether a joke goes viral, or an appeal for help remains unheard?

BBC: A lost bag - returned by the open web

We believe a crowdfunding model provides a powerful network effect that can help increase options, and decision-making, for individual investors.

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Mass Effect 2 comes with its day-one DLC Cerberus Network intact (included with all new copies of the game).

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RFF's books, in effect writing off the infrastructure investment of building the high-speed network.

ECONOMIST: World class in both speed and losses