Yeah, I'm sure the causal arrow goes both ways. You learn about it on HN, try it out, ask a question on SO. Somebody else hears of the tech, visits SO, sees that there's activity, tries it out, and mentions it on HN.
But I'm puzzled by the framing. If I were looking at the relationship, I'd be asking questions like: Is HN a good place to post if I want to make something popular? If I learn about something on HN, is it likely to become popular? If I want to know what the next big thing is, is HN an indicator of that?
If I'm thinking of SO as the cause of something, it'd be mainly in the category of docs: a supporting factor. So I'd be inclined to measure documentation and developer resources more generally.
But I'm puzzled by the framing. If I were looking at the relationship, I'd be asking questions like: Is HN a good place to post if I want to make something popular? If I learn about something on HN, is it likely to become popular? If I want to know what the next big thing is, is HN an indicator of that?
If I'm thinking of SO as the cause of something, it'd be mainly in the category of docs: a supporting factor. So I'd be inclined to measure documentation and developer resources more generally.