Adding Social Network Functionality –> Product Cascade?
Strava is a fitness app that tracks runs and rides, creates maps, analyzes your workout, and connects the user with others. Yes, your fitness analysis app is now too another social networking platform. This update was obviously an attempt to stand out from fitness tracking competitors such as mapmyrun, but why should an app used for data analysis and tracking add a social aspect rather than improve its performance as a swimming or equestrian tracker for example? The company’s motive becomes evident in examination of target audiences. Rather than focusing in on a niche population such as swimmers, a social network has the ability to attract a range of audiences. Further, the app can be less reliant upon advertisements because a users personal benefit from the app increases as more of their friends people in their area and in general use the app (as the app allows you to share routes and discover new trails and such in your area). This spread of information and want of a larger social network can cause a product cascade for the app, significantly increasing its profits.
To verify this, I skimmed the reviews of the product in the app store. Looking to see how many recommendations/positive reviews were due to the social aspect, I read 48 reviews that had a specific positive comment about the app. Note that these reviews were neither chronological nor by rating and my sample size was very small. 31 of these positive comments attributed their liking of the app to the social network. These came across as comments about the community it has given them, the motivation and encouragement they receive from others, their ability to share routes, etc. So, beyond having a “reliable” and “accurate” app, this app is surely able to attribute its success to having a social network and user base that wants to see it grow, creating a mutually beneficial motive and a product cascade for a larger user base.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/strava-run-ride-swim/id426826309?mt=8