What is the main idea?

Some products grow more valuable as more people use them, which both attracts and traps users (The passage defines network effects and shows how they attract newcomers and lock users in.)

Why is the strongest network hard for a rival to defeat?

A rival must convince the whole crowd to move at once, not just build a better tool (The text says a rival must offer a reason for the whole crowd to move together, not merely a better tool.)

According to the passage, why is a single telephone useless?

There is no one to call (The passage states 'A single telephone is useless; there is no one to call.')

Why the Crowd Attracts a Crowd: Level 3 Reading Comprehension Questions

Q: In the passage, "rival" most nearly means:

a competing product trying to win users (The rival is the challenger that "must offer not just a better tool, but a reason for the whole crowd to move at once," that is, a competing product trying to take the users.)

Some products become more valuable the more people use them. A single telephone is useless; there is no one to call. A million telephones form a system worth far more than the sum of its parts. This pattern is called a network effect.

The pull is powerful. Once a service has many users, newcomers join because that is where everyone already is, and each new member makes it more attractive to the next. The same force can trap people, too. A product may keep its lead not because it is best but because everyone is already there, and no one wants to be first to leave. This is why strong networks are hard to challenge: a rival must offer not just a better tool, but a reason for the whole crowd to move at once.

Comprehension questions