If you're hoping this story ends with a number of new user signups or video views, then I'm sorry - it's not like that.
I have 7 kids, and the oldest ones are home from college, so we had all 9 of us at home last night for the first time in a while. After dinner, we were all hanging out in the living room. I was reading a book, some of the older kids were watching TV or on their phones, my wife was on Facebook, and the younger kids were playing with something (can't remember what).
My 5-year-old (the youngest) walked over to me with the dog's tennis ball, and said "Daddy, throw it in the basket" as she pointed across the room to a small wire basket where we keep the dog toys. I was pretty engrossed in my book, but reluctantly obliged. My first toss missed wide right. She ran over, retrieved the ball and brought it back for me to try again. My second toss landed in the basket. Again, she retrieved it and brought it back to me and asked if I could do it again, which I did.
Then, she brought the ball back but wanted to try herself. She missed horribly, but laughed because it hit another kid in the arm. She tried again, but from much closer, and barely missed.
Then, the younger kids started to gain some interest, and they wanted to try. So 2 more kids came over to my side and wanted turns. They started taking turns, and after about 4 or 5 tosses my older kids asked for the ball from their seats on the couch. They started playing, then my wife wanted a turn. At this point, 8/9 of us were in on the action.
Then, the older kids got organized, and improved the game. Two of them (20 and 17) sat at opposite ends of the room, each with a wire basket in front of them. They took turns tossing the ball back and forth trying to make it in the basket - first to 5 wins, and the loser gives up their spot.
This went on for another 15 - 20 minutes before I headed to bed (and judging by the sounds, continued on for another 5 - 10 minutes after I left). In hindsight, it was amazing to hear everyone loudly and enthusiastically participating in something a 5-year-old started with likely a fraction-of-a-second worth of thought.
I didn't think about it at the time, but this morning as I reflected I realized what had happened. My youngest started with a very simple MVP (toss the ball in the basket), and her enthusiasm coupled with the simplicity of the product (it was intuitive and offered some intrinsic reward for playing) exponentially grew the user base - from 1 (me) to 2 (her and me) to 4 (the other younger kids) and finally to 8 (everyone). Then with feedback from the users, the product improved and everyone stayed engaged for about 30 minutes. If she had started by asking her 20-year-old brother to play dolls with her, it would have been a non-starter and certainly wouldn't have ended up "going viral".
I've been reading a lot lately on MVP's and building-in virality, which may be the only reason I noticed what had happened. In any event, I thought it was pretty cool and wanted to share.
