S. Doshi App Engagement Dynamics Social Developer Summit

From 0 to 100MM usersDealing with analytics as you grow.

mixpanel.com

We spend a lot of time with companies big and small.

We have built products too...that failed despite success.“One of the most strikingly popular new apps on this front is called TheVerb, a basic events planning calendar developed by a student at Arizona State University. It’s had around 800,000 installs […]”- VentureBeat

Also worked at places that evangelize and aggressively use metrics.

Biggest hurdle?Figuring out what to track

Stage 1: Got the product!And we launched, now what?

Stage 1: Got the product!

Problem: Not enough users, not enough data.Go growth and build a strategy.Referral program Dropbox (Users invite friends and get more space)Widgets Slide (Slideshow widget on MySpace)Search OmnitureAdvertising Every game on facebookPlatform virality SuperPoke

Use analytics to figure out which strategy works and optimize to maximize growth.

Stage 1: Got the product!

But only until you have 10,000-50,000 users.You need enough users for your tests to give you good data.

Stage 2: Lots of usersWe’ll call this “Posterous” stage.

Stage 2: Lots of users

Retention

Stage 2: Lots of users

Don’t let this happen to you, pay attention to your retention.

Largest application on facebook at one point.(31 MM users)

Largest application on facebook at one point. (20 MM users)

Largest application on facebook so far.(83 MM users at peak now 63 MM)

Stage 2: Lots of users

Don’t let your own growth trick you; bad retention is a frequent killer.

Shoot for 40-60% day over day retention. It’s possible, we’ve seen it, and it’s the best predictor of a successful company.

Stage 2: Lots of users

This is what you want:(week to week is better)

Not this:

Stage 2: Lots of users

How do I increase retention?“Build something people want.” – Paul Graham

Measure how product changes affect retention constantly. Over time your application can lose relevancy amongst users too.

Stage 3: 100 million usersData overload.

Stage 3: 100 million users

Small tweaks have huge impact but don’t optimize and get stuck in a local maxima.- Paraphrased from Max Levchin

Stage 3: 100 million users

Build a growth team.“When something gets released at facebook or a milestone is hit the team goes to Zuckerberg’s office to hit the gong. The growth team has never done that.” - Anonymous

These aren’t really new features, this is the facebook growth team still experimenting.

Stage 3: 100 million users

Watch the macro not the micro.Any change can have a huge effect on other areas, even ones you’re not watching.

Thanks.

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