I also was previously unaware of Reed's Law, and appreciate you bringing to my attention. This is an example of the value of GFN's IMHO, which economic and financial metrics don't detect directly. Value is not only economic, something I am aware is both controversial in some circles, and far too ignored.

I would trade all my possessions for lunch with my late mother. There is no way to assess a financial weight to my mom. Many, many aspects of social interactions are similarly priceless, and mere economic metrics are woefully inadequate to encapsulate the value of networks that potentiate free speech.

Free speech is literally of existential value, and there are no rational people that would not trade every farthing for fair warning of impending doom. I have often ranted about how Steem is grossly undervalued by being so focused on monetary rewards. It is other benefits of free speech which brought, and yet keeps me here, and better financial investments exist for profiteers than our interactions.

This is why I am so hopeful that SMTs, Oracles, and Communities (SOC) will have leeway nominal to rewarding interactions in currencies far more valuable than any money, and if sufficient freedom in speech and rewards for participation are availed communities going forward, I expect one or some of them to get it right enough to show the rest how to do it.

Another note on Reed's Law is that it describes potential, which is much different than actual. N^2 is how many networks can form. That many networks will not form. I cannot today predict how many networks will form of those that could, but I bet that can be estimated from examining various social networks with a statistician's eye. My seat of the pants guess is that no more than 10% of the potential number of networks that can form do, and this then reduces Reed's Law to N^.2, which is a horse of another color.

Lastly, I return to my point about society being far more valuable than it's economy. I recall a line in the bible about a bag of gold being unable to purchase a loaf of bread, and reckon this may strike a nerve about this time next year. However, while some of the networks that form in a GFN may not be directly economically productive, this does not mean they're not valuable. Reed's Law values will be understated in societal terms, and overstated in financial ones.

Thanks!