How the world works
Mark Granovetter
Weak ties
Mark Granovetter (1973 · American Journal of Sociology) — Weak ties.
What actually happened?
The finding has a consequence people meet without recognising it. Move to a new city or leave an industry and the close friends survive — those few hold. What disappears is the wide band of people you used to see occasionally, and that is precisely the layer that brings opportunities. So the drought after a move is not imagined and not a comment on you. It is structural, and rebuilding that layer takes time, which is why the first year somewhere new is so often silent.
It isn't willingness, it's whether the news is new
Close friends want to help more and hold almost the same information you do. A weak tie isn't more generous. He is standing somewhere else, holding the part you can't reach from here.
Closure is what strong ties produce
Close to A and close to B means A and B probably know each other. The circle closes, and once closed the three of you know largely the same things. Closure gives support and trust, and it stops new information arriving.
Maintain breadth, not depth
Rather than pouring everything into a few people, keep more weak ties in the 'still knows who you are' state. The cost is an occasional message with no request attached — and the line has to be kept while you don't need it.
How do I use it today?
If you're looking for something — work, a partner, customers — and circling the same few people, count how many of the people you contacted in six months are ones you see a few times a year. If almost none, a whole source of opportunity is switched off. Just after a move or a career change, expect this and rebuild deliberately.
Deep read
Read alongside
Further
Lines to keep
Of people who found work through a contact, 56% saw them only occasionally.
No strong tie is a bridge.
When you move, the layer that breaks first is the one that brought opportunities.