Pilot
A small, adversarially reviewed test of the extraction and evidence-card workflow.
104 pages · 31 reviewed cardsResearch / current inquiry
Following the question as it becomes more precise.
This page records what I am trying to understand now, what the work has made more complicated, and what is still missing. It is not a guide to “going viral.”
Now investigating
Essential-03
Economic diffusion, referral mechanisms, seeding, and platform network effects.
Why this matters
These ideas are routinely folded into one story about growth. The point of this checkpoint is to find out where the evidence actually supports that simplification and where it does not.
Evidence being sought
Original studies and rigorous reviews that specify mechanisms, assumptions, outcomes, and limits—not only impressive cases or practical frameworks.
Next meaningful gate
A bounded, source-level batch that passes provenance, locator, duplicate, and adversarial checks before it changes the public record.
Current questions
01When does a referral mechanism create genuine product value rather than a one-time acquisition spike?
02How do economic diffusion models separate imitation, innovation, and network effects?
03When does a well-connected person matter, and when does network structure matter more?
04What can platform-network effects explain that a sharing model cannot?
What became more complicated
There is no single “viral” outcome.
The existing work reinforces a basic discipline: a share, an adoption, a recommendation-driven purchase, and retained product use are related but distinct outcomes. A result about one cannot automatically be used as an explanation for another.
Likewise, a feed may amplify visibility without proving a person chose to pass something on. The public record keeps these distinctions visible while the evidence develops.
Completed checkpoints
Essential-01
A first batch across networks, content, algorithms, and platform mechanisms.
48 reviewed cardsEssential-02
A second batch on diffusion, observation, cascade prediction, product sharing, and referral design.
53 reviewed cardsOpen evidence gaps
Known unavailable source: one 2025 systematic review is currently bibliographic and abstract-only; it will not be used for full-text claims without a lawful copy.
Deferred legacy material: two image-only scans await OCR. Their absence is recorded rather than concealed.
Inspect the public source recordResearch journal
01→02→03→
Why this project exists
From an unexplained post to a larger, older question.
What an evidence card is—and is not
A compact record designed to preserve context rather than manufacture certainty.
A repair is part of the method
What a malformed text layer taught me about protecting the evidence trail.
Have a source that complicates this work—or a question it should answer?
Help improve the research →