Get variety from people and creation

• Scale × Stayin season
• Mature and Stalled × Returnin season
• Mature and Stalled × Staylead

• Figma · 2025

  Figma Community: remix culture

  250,000+ Community resources, including 10,000+ plugins and widgets, and about 450k paid customers as of March 31, 2025 (Figma S-1, 2025). The link from Community to growth is our inference [Analyst; many causes].

  M4 ×StaySpread
  NumberALinkDCase grade for the number: A. Evidence grade for the mechanism link: D.Analyst inferenceCorrelational

• Match Group (Tinder, Hinge) · 2026

  Round

  Tinder vs Hinge: variety vs investment

  Q2 2026 (8-K, Aug 4, 2026): Match Group payers 13.25M, down 6% YoY; Hinge revenue up 22% YoY with monthly users up 13%; Tinder's YoY decline in daily users narrowed to 4%. Many causes; the mechanism link is our inference.

  M4 ×ReturnPay
  NumberALinkDCase grade for the number: A. Evidence grade for the mechanism link: D.Analyst inferenceCorrelational

• Pokemon GO (Niantic) · 2016

  Round

  Pokemon GO: the extra steps faded

  +955 steps a day in the first week after installing, falling over the following weeks and back to pre-install levels by week 6 (Howe et al., BMJ, Dec 13, 2016; about 1,182 US adults aged 18-35).

  M5 ×Return
  NumberALinkACase grade for the number: A. Evidence grade for the mechanism link: A.

• Zynga · 2012

  Zynga and FarmVille: the Black Hat rebound

  Book-era analyses: FarmVille reached 83.8M monthly users and Zynga a valuation above $10B, then lost more than 80% of its value (Hooked, Ch4). Take-Two acquired Zynga in May 2022 (not re-verified here). Many causes; grade D.

  M5 ×StayPay
  NumberDLinkDCase grade for the number: D. Evidence grade for the mechanism link: D.Many causesAnecdote

• Notion · 2024

  Notion: templates as investment and community

  51M template duplications by nearly 11M people in one year; the gallery grew from about 600 to 5,000+ templates, with 2,000+ creator profiles (Notion blog, 2024). Company-reported; effects on activation or retention were not published.

  M4 ×StartStay
  NumberBLinkDCase grade for the number: B. Evidence grade for the mechanism link: D.Analyst inferenceCorrelational

• TechniqueCLimitedEvidence grade C. Limited evidence: few or small studies.

  Store value that makes the product better with use

  a product that improves as you use it

  Design the investments users make so they build up in forms that improve the next visit: content they collect, data about themselves, people they follow or who follow them, and skill with the tool. Say plainly when a recommendation comes from what they stored.

• TechniqueDPractitionerEvidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.

  Reputation that carries real value

  earned reputation as stored value

  Let users earn a reputation (ratings, badges, response scores) that changes what they get: better ranking, higher prices, more trust, new privileges. People stay where their reputation lives.

• TechniqueCLimitedEvidence grade C. Limited evidence: few or small studies.

  A first social reward from a real person, fast

  early, real encouragement

  Route a newcomer's first post, workout or project to real people who respond quickly, and show the value of the community in the first session rather than weeks later.

• TechniqueCLimitedEvidence grade C. Limited evidence: few or small studies.

  Rewards of the hunt with natural stopping points

  discovery that knows when to stop

  Let users search for useful or interesting things where the next item is uncertain, mixing what they asked for with occasional discoveries. Build in endings: a daily drop at a set time, 'you're all caught up' markers and session summaries.

• TechniqueBModerateEvidence grade B. Moderate evidence: solid studies with some limits.

  Pay in recognition, not small cash

  recognition over money

  Don't attach small or rare cash to things people already do for social or personal reasons. Reward contribution with recognition, reputation and privileges that mean something, ideally given by peers, and if you pay, pay meaningfully.

• TechniqueDPractitionerEvidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.

  Stack social, material and mastery rewards in each loop

  three kinds of payoff

  Map each core loop on three reward types and fill the gaps: a social payoff (who responded), a material or informational payoff (what's new or useful), and a mastery payoff (progress or completion). Score the coverage before adding mechanics, and add small, harmless surprises.

Sources

• Hooked · Nir Eyal

  Ch.4

Source IDs: HK-RWD35

Book content is paraphrased, never quoted at length. Last verified October 24, 2026.