Product

The primary reason most people use social products (and stick around) is their friends are using it. This is why invites and contact upload are core UX to any successful social network.

The secondary reason is there is entertaining or interesting content. This is why algorithmic feeds have won.

Nothing else matters.

I do believe there is a 3rd that you are way over discounting:

3. Making Money

True for Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Warpcast

and made even more powerful with onchain social

Pretty much everyone on LinkedIn has a money motivation: get a job, get ahead, grow my company and value of my shares/tokens

Twitter is very clout driven as well, which is all about making money in the end

CryotoTwitter and VCTtwitter are all about making money, celeb twitter as well

Agree, but that's a subset of users (creators). Average user just wants to hang out and be entertained.

+1 to making money (ie, Behance for creatives)

winner winner

monetization is the primary driver of high quality interesting content on social today