both Metcalfe's and Reed's laws are approximations. With Metcalfe's Law you should bear in mind that a technology or infrastructure that gives you the option of

both Metcalfe's and Reed's laws are approximations. With Metcalfe's Law you should bear in mind that a technology or infrastructure that gives you the option of connecting with one of N people creates N^2 of value, I think you are actually arguing for a value above N^2 only because you are working from close friends to more distant stakeholders (e.g. members of your community, members of your profession, potential customers, ...). Clay Shirky makes a great point in "Here Comes Everybody" that once you can rely on everyone having access to a technology (e.g. telephone, e-mail, web browser) it is a quantum change from "everyone you currently know." I think Metcalfe's Law has actually held up pretty well. This is worth a much longer discussion if you are interested, I will contact you directly.