Hooked with the Reality: Communities That Made Me Cry

Yeah, it’s December, and I want this month to be the foundation for a new chapter: #NewPath_NewPractice_NewPossibilities2025. Through this journey, I aim to redefine my career aspirations and actions, building them systematically with a clear and thoughtful approach.

I decided to write a series of articles about the concepts, theories, and thoughts that have shaped me over time, sharing the stories behind them. Some of you might wonder, "What credentials do you have to share these opinions?" Feel free to ask – and roasts are welcome! They help me learn, even if it means a bit of discomfort. The readings from my curated list, including authors like Taleb and the Kelly brothers, have always helped me move forward.

I read books like I take vitamins – during meals, while traveling, roaming, or walking. Recently, I discovered a lovely place called Atta Galatta near my home, which has been the perfect spot to dive into a few chapters at a time.

I don’t rush to finish books; I often revisit them when inspiration strikes. For instance, I’ve been rereading the classic The Design of Everyday Things to think deeply about "knowledge-based structures" and "better UX for new product ideas." This is part of my practice of conceptualizing products – scribbling, imagining their behavior, and planning their progression. It’s not the usual way, but it’s like my personal creative workout for thought experiments.

In short, I have a profound relationship with books and ideas, always trying to integrate them into my practice and thought processes.

So let’s begin.

Hooked was one of the first books I picked up for serious reading. Its bright yellow cover and friendly design made it approachable and easy to dive into.

I read this book during two different periods: first in early 2023 when I was working at Captain Fresh, and again in 2024, during a recent train journey. The first time, I was a beginner; the second time, I had a clearer idea of which segments and schools of thought worked for me. My reading style has evolved over time – I initially read a lot of Tamil books on culture, anthropology, and politics, and gradually shifted to English books. Fiction has never been my primary interest, but I have explored and read chapters from many books over 2023 and 2024.

Book One of #30Books30Stories

Hooked by Nir Eyal

Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal is a foundational work that explores the psychology of why certain products captivate us while others fade away. Published in 2014, it has become a must-read for understanding habit formation, blending behavioral design, psychology, and practical insights. Product managers, designers, entrepreneurs, and anyone interested in creating engaging experiences have found it incredibly useful.

At the core of the book is the "Hook Model," a four-step process that explains how successful products form habits:

• Trigger: The cue to action, whether internal or external.

• Action: The behavior in anticipation of a reward.

• Variable Reward: The unpredictable outcome that keeps users engaged.

• Investment: The user’s effort that increases the likelihood of future engagement.

In this blog, I want to use this framework as a hook to tell my story.

This book serves as a playbook for "people-centric" product development, but I also see it as a guide for building initiatives, concepts, and solutions that people want to be part of – not necessarily startups or products. Some of these insights are underrated but incredibly powerful.

I’ve been exploring, executing, and experimenting in the "Enterprise AI/Analytics" space since my time at Mu Sigma, then at Captain Fresh (a category-defining startup), and now at Informatica. Over these six years, I’ve never been in a role that’s boring or just about maintaining dashboards or models. It has always been about building end-to-end solutions, tailored to specific problems and people.

Some insights from Hooked deeply resonate with my journey. Earlier this year, I conceptualized a collaboration-driven learning initiative called "Thozhar-Tensor." The goal was to foster a collaboration-first mindset rather than having communities operate like hierarchical organizations or political parties, which are often driven by celebrity status and fear of losing authority (FOLA controlling Fear of Missing Out, FOMO). I have seen these dynamics play out and have experienced them firsthand.

In Thozhar-Tensor, students and mentors were matched based on their skills and interests and were tasked with building, contributing, and solving problems in public. The goal was to create value for both students and mentors.

Based on the Hook Model, the "trigger" was clear to me: shifting the focus from traditional learning sessions to real learning experiences by tackling challenges. This approach worked on a small scale, helping me connect with about 10 students (mostly sophomores and final-year students). They were curious to learn, and I walked them through the idea.

These students were enthusiastic, and we moved forward, starting to execute some ideas. I suggested building a multimodal app that could understand user screenshots and help with product recommendations, categorization, and search. It was inspired by an open-source project that worked as a second brain for social media posts. The students were excited, and we discussed progress during regular sessions.

However, we couldn’t progress as far as we wanted because the students were busy with their internships. It was like a "vanishing gradient" between stages of the Hook Model – the initial enthusiasm faded over time. Though the rewards Nir mentions were evident (“rewards of the tribe,” “rewards of the hunt,” and “rewards of the self”), they weren’t fully realized because I hadn’t planned strategically enough at that time.

In another instance, I tried to pitch the idea to a WhatsApp group of around 300 people, all of whom were aspiring data science and machine learning enthusiasts. Unfortunately, the "trigger" didn’t quite resonate with them, possibly because it wasn’t communicated clearly or the timing wasn't right. It was a bit disheartening to see a lack of interest, but I realized that sometimes the audience isn’t ready for the message, or the approach needs adjustment. This experience taught me an important lesson: understanding the audience and aligning communication with their needs is essential for fostering engagement and connection.

One observation I made was about the audience segment this approach works for: aspirants, but not necessarily those caught up in FOMO or FOLA. I witnessed people adapt and build on the idea when triggers and rewards were clearly defined, even if I wasn’t actively guiding them. I had insightful conversations with Professor Balamurugan from Erode, who leads a Tamil computing research team. His vision is to explore intersections between Tamil classical music and AI. Though they’re at an early stage, I’ve seen them make progress and evolve as a team with a shared purpose.

Moving forward, I also experimented with building a Machine Learning club called Nutpam at my previous organization. We aimed for engaging conversations around data science practice. I conducted fireside chats, presentations, tutorials, and honest discussions on our mistakes. One session even led to changes in how we calculated "lift." However, the reward system wasn’t clear enough to sustain interest – the reward wasn’t obvious, and cognitive dissonance around it (material-focused rewards vs. competency-focused rewards) led to the idea eventually fizzling out.

My overall experience with ideas and communities has shown me that "triggers" and "rewards" are crucial to setting the right context and keeping people engaged. Simple, relevant things get picked up when the right triggers and rewards align. Cognitive dissonance plays a huge role – people respond best when they know exactly what they’re gaining.

When considering a community of users as customers, they have their own "meta-cycle" of triggers to investment. We need to highlight how our product offerings impact each stage, bringing meaningful change.

My cousin, a professor at a tier-three engineering college in Tamil Nadu, often talks about the challenges students face in skill building and placements. They struggle because the "trigger" to grow or succeed isn’t supported by actions that genuinely benefit them. Assignments are often just formalities that don’t build valuable habits or skills.

To address this, we were trying to come up with creative assignments like presentations on an actor's career growth. Students had to present their perspective on the traits that led to success, in English, and defend their ideas. This simple shift would really foster research, critical thinking, and confidence.

In a different context, while working with React developers and freshers on an AI project, I used a guided, story-based approach to teach them. Instead of simply telling them what to read, I created "learning stories" that explained how problems evolve in AI. We explored questions like "What if my search query isn't lexically linked but is semantically linked? and more" The students were eager for more tasks, and this guided approach really worked for us.

The difference lies in the environment. In college and professional communities, FOLA is prevalent and prevents the group from exploring the full potential of the Hook cycle. However, where FOLA and FOMO are well-balanced, it’s easier for people to adapt, engage, and grow.

See you in the next story, where I’ll share another perspective inspired by a book.

Feedback, comments, appreciations, and critiques are welcome!

Your thoughts !

If you have any questions or want to share your thoughts, feel free to reach out. I'd love to hear from you, whether it's about this story or anything else on your mind. You can contact me via email .

Your insights are valuable, and they help us all grow together!