Nine ways that Juul is like a social network
Juul and Fortnite are the two most recent additions to pop culture from the consumer tech world. Juul is reputed to have gone from $60 million in 2016 revenue to $245 million in 2017, with 2018 revenue well over their projections of $940 million. That’s growth comparable to Beats, the iPod or the iPhone. As I was thinking about how Fortnite is designed to be viral and shares many of the characteristics of social networks, I realized that the same is true for Juul. This is not an endorsement for Juul, simply an analysis of how it works similarly to a social network. And note that the ten headings for this post are exactly the same as the headings I wrote for Fortnite:
1. It’s super fun. For better or worse, the flavors (Mango, Creme Brulee…) and colors are appealing. And Nicotine raises dopamine, the pleasure molecule.
2. It spreads through word of mouth. The design, looking like a USB stick, is very noticeable and elicits conversation when others see it used, “What’s that?” “Oh, it’s Juul, it’s a vape that looks like a USB stick, here try it”
3. Single player mode is good. Nicotine peps you up when you’re tired and calms you down when you’re anxious.
4. Multi player mode is better. Camaraderie comes from doing the same thing with your friends. Cigarette smokers clustered outside in winter know this.
5. UGC content Creation and consumption — check out #doit4juul on Instagram.
6. User culture is self propagating. Juuling has developed a culture of its own, quite distinct from smoking culture, as a quick look through the Instagram account linked above shows. That’s not the Marlboro Man for sure. And new Juulers aspire to behave in the same way.
7. The best content algorithmically bubbles to the top. The reviews of the various flavor pods of Juul ensure that new users are most likely to try something that they will like.
8. It’s popular with young women. Notwithstanding a nominal age limit of 21 and up, Juul is most popular with the high school and college crowd and, judging from personal experience and Instagram, has at least a 50% female user base.
9. Juul creates community outside usage. See Instagram above, plus a thriving black market on EBay, AliExpress and IRL to get Juul into the hands of those under 21.
10. It’s video first. OK maybe not this one
Nine of the ten reasons that explain Fortnite’s meteoric rise into pop culture also apply to Juul. And Juul is unquestionable part of pop culture. No wonder they’re rumored to be raising money at a valuation of $16 billion just 3 years from launching.
Let me know in comments what are some other factors that drive Juul to be part of pop culture.
