Wow, you guys can vote this down all you want, but, as they say:

"Ignore basic economic principles at your own risk. Technology changes. Economic laws do not."

I was referring to the exaggeration as the 'kool-aid'. I think network effects are self-evident, it's just that the term 'network effect' has transcended into buzzword territory. No economic principle operates perfectly in the real world, because not all people actually act rationally in the real world.

There are certainly people who hype network effects and see them as being stronger than they are in some fields. However, imperfect or not, their effects are quite real.

Call them 'positive network externalities' or 'demand-side economies of scale' if you want a different term.