Come for the tool, stay for the network

Describes a popular strategy for bootstrapping networks: first attract users with a useful single-player tool to reach critical mass, then convert them into a network that creates long-term value and defensibility. Dixon cites Delicious (cloud bookmarks that became a link-sharing tagging system) and Instagram (photo filters that became a sharing network) as examples, framing single-player tools as the 'kindling' for hard-to-start networks.