My post and the medium post I refer to are talking about the same thing, but in a different way. The posts you mention are talking about mathematically understanding network effects. That is more like applying thermodynamic laws to network effects to evaluate them. While this is more along the lines of social dynamics where more things are being considered beyond the mathematical side of things.
One of the main things to take away is the alignment and structure of the business is now vital for there to be token network effects in the long run. How companies monetize their users will fundamentally change the way the world does things.
One of the main reasons that I am reluctant to promote using the math side is that it will be to complex for your standard crypto investor and it also can be wrong. This is such a new thing that if you judge a project based on simple things like how the company behind the crypto makes money, what problem is solved, what creates stickiness, then they will be better off.