Andrew Chen Archives

Q: Andrew -I do enjoy your blog. Can you direct me to some resources for driving traffic to specialized social networking sites / social networking? Or anything at all that I can read up on. Thanks

Posted by AC

A: I’m often pinged for requests to recruit for people who are great at viral marketing, or traffic generation, or the like. Here’s the quick answer to that, blogged for posterity:

• Because traffic is greatly valued right now, all the best people in viral marketing are off doing their own companies – in this list, I’d include the founders of Slide, RockYou, Hi5, Flixster, Tagged, etc. The short list of experts is probably around a dozen or two at most, and they are certainly all in San Francisco
• Obviously, anyone who says they are a viral marketing expert but runs a consulting firm probably doesn’t know what they’re doing, otherwise they would have their own destination site that they were growing. In many cases, they are experts in “word of mouth,” not the viral marketing techniques online that generate millions of users
• Since the science of quantitative viral marketing is new, few people have written about it, and in fact, the community as a whole is pretty secretive about the entire thing (for better or worse)

I think for the folks who are interested in viral marketing, the best place to start is to understand website metrics really really well. Then go read about the SEO industry, then learn about affiliate/leadgen practices (including optimization techniques), and then go study Facebook apps. It’d take a good 6-12 months to do (that’s about the time it took me), but once you’re done with it, you can really pick up a lot.

If you’re an engineer and actually like to build stuff, I’d be open to meeting folks here in SF – just shoot me a mail. 

Views expressed in “content” (including posts, podcasts, videos) linked on this website or posted in social media and other platforms (collectively, “content distribution outlets”) are my own and are not the views of AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) or its respective affiliates. AH Capital Management is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Registration as an investment adviser does not imply any special skill or training. The posts are not directed to any investors or potential investors, and do not constitute an offer to sell -- or a solicitation of an offer to buy -- any securities, and may not be used or relied upon in evaluating the merits of any investment.

The content should not be construed as or relied upon in any manner as investment, legal, tax, or other advice. You should consult your own advisers as to legal, business, tax, and other related matters concerning any investment. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Any charts provided here are for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, I have not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation. The content speaks only as of the date indicated.

Under no circumstances should any posts or other information provided on this website -- or on associated content distribution outlets -- be construed as an offer soliciting the purchase or sale of any security or interest in any pooled investment vehicle sponsored, discussed, or mentioned by a16z personnel. Nor should it be construed as an offer to provide investment advisory services; an offer to invest in an a16z-managed pooled investment vehicle will be made separately and only by means of the confidential offering documents of the specific pooled investment vehicles -- which should be read in their entirety, and only to those who, among other requirements, meet certain qualifications under federal securities laws. Such investors, defined as accredited investors and qualified purchasers, are generally deemed capable of evaluating the merits and risks of prospective investments and financial matters. There can be no assurances that a16z’s investment objectives will be achieved or investment strategies will be successful. Any investment in a vehicle managed by a16z involves a high degree of risk including the risk that the entire amount invested is lost. Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by a16z is available at https://a16z.com/investments/. Excluded from this list are investments for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly as well as unannounced investments in publicly traded digital assets. Past results of Andreessen Horowitz’s investments, pooled investment vehicles, or investment strategies are not necessarily indicative of future results. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.