Spiegel: Snapchat grew via close-friend networks rather than broad social graphs
Evan Spiegel · Snap: Evan Spiegel · Apr 21, 2025 · at 16:50
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel explains why Snapchat's early viral dynamics differed from traditional network-effect social media platforms.
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“Yeah, and it was different than social media virality because social media virality is very network-based, right? You would want to have the largest graph possible, but the reason why Snapchat was able to grow is because you really wanted to use it with your, you know, one or two or three best friends, and so the growth trajectory was different than traditional social media, but, you know, it still required a friend to use it.”
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