The weak ties are stronger…
Some people have a very large network of contacts with persons very similar to themselves. Other people have a smaller network of very diverse individuals. Which of these two types of network do you think is more valuable? The diverse one, of course!
Mark Granovetter published a seminal article about the “strength of weak ties” back in 1973. He was at Johns Hopkins University at the time. He wrote, “Whatever is to be diffused can reach a larger number of people (…) when passed through weak ties rather than strong”.
In a nutshell, the argument is as follows. You tend to meet people who are similar to yourself. They also know people similar to themselves and, of course, similar to you. This creates, let’s say, an “endogamic network” that lacks diversity. All in all, it makes for a rather ineffective network when you are trying to locate new information or reach new people…
Your network will reach further (for instance, find rare information) via the weak ties. These weak ties are the ones formed by people with whom you spend little time, have no emotional links, and with whom you share no confidences.
Related links:
- “The Strength of Weak Ties”. Mark S. Granovetter The American Journal of Sociology, Vol 78. No. 6 (May 1973), 1360-1380. http://smg.media.mit.edu/classes/library/granovetter.weak.ties/granovetter.html
- The Ties that Find. Andrew McAfee’s Blog, Oct 1, 2007.
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