Weak Ties
the people you barely know are the ones who change your life
Grounded in the research on Wikipedia: 'The Strength of Weak Ties' (Mark Granovetter, 1973)
[ ] what a weak tie actually is
A weak tie is anyone in your orbit you're not close with. The gym guy. An old classmate. A coworker from two jobs ago. You don't text them, you don't owe them anything, you'd nod if you passed on the street. Your strong ties are your inner circle. Weak ties are everyone on the edges. Sounds useless. It's the opposite.
[ ] the science (Granovetter, 1973)
Sociologist Mark Granovetter studied how people actually found jobs. Most didn't hear about them from close friends. They heard from acquaintances. His 1973 paper 'The Strength of Weak Ties' became one of the most-cited in social science. The logic: your close friends know everyone you know. Weak ties live in different worlds, so they carry information you'd never otherwise reach.