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My advice to these companies, as well as any other startup facing a similar situation, is: never, ever outsource something that is core to your business.
When building a social product, optimize your funnel from back to front. First, build the kernel of value. For free apps, this means engagement. Then, focus on activation. Then on acquisition.
Start simple. Build a high quality solution to a real problem for a cohesive group of people. If you solve one problem really well, then you can move on to the next problem (one simple approach …