Data products are anti-viral

Unlike social networks that become increasingly valuable when more people use them, data products become inherently less valuable when the underlying information becomes more widely available. As a result, it's typically not in a company's interest to publicly praise or associate itself with a data product because by doing so, they're diluting the value of their purchase.

While both types of companies sell software, their economics and business dynamic are fundamentally different. For consumer products, customers are excited to recommend things that they think can help improve their friends' lives. So, if executed properly, viral loops help these products to sell themselves.

On the other hand, data products don't perform as well on metrics like net promoter score. But, they're better at upselling themselves to existing customers when they add new data sources or allow for more nuanced data manipulation.