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John Soriano's avatar

Great piece Andrew. One interesting angle: What if the real moat isn't just adding network effects to AI, but AI's ability to dramatically lower the activation energy for network effects? Traditional products needed significant user behavior change to create networks (posting, sharing, connecting). But AI could automate much of this friction away - imagine AI auto-generating shareable content or proactively connecting relevant users. The next Facebook might not need to convince users to build their networks manually.

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Paul Walborsky's avatar

One wrinkle worth thinking about: unlike Web 1.0 and 2.0, where incumbents were slow to react, today’s corporate leaders are digital natives who fully grasp the power of AI. They aren’t just sitting on their hands—they’re aggressively investing, locking down proprietary data, and leveraging their distribution advantage.

This game won’t be as open as past cycles. The real question is: if incumbents hoard data and distribution, what’s the new edge for startups? Will it come from novel UX, emergent behaviors, or entirely new business models? Feels like a harder chessboard than before.

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