Understanding the Importance of Weak-Ties : 'The Strength of Weak Ties

"People weren't getting their jobs through their friends. They were getting them through their acquaintances. Why is this? Granovetter argues that it is because when it comes to finding out about new jobs -- or, for that matter, new information, or new ideas -- "weak ties" are always more important than strong ties. Your friends, after all, occupy the same world that you do. They might work with you, or live near you, and go to the same same churches, schools, or parties. How much, then, would they know that you wouldn't know? Your acquaintances, on the other hand, by definition occupy a very different world than you. They are much more likely to know something that you don't. To capture this apparent paradox, Granovetter coined a marvellous phrase: the strength of weak ties. Acquaintances, in short, represent a source of social power, and the more acquaintances you have the more powerful you are."

I think this book extract reiterates the importance of weak-ties in a generalised format. People we know, know people we know and the same things we know, so when finding a job the people we know would be un-benificial. This translates to networks using the same concept.

Book Extract: Malcolm Gladwell, 2001. The Tipping Point, How Little Things Can Make a Difference. New Edition. Little Brown & Co.

Yahoo Answers

I am gaining some positive response through Yahoo Answers. This is also positive as it enables me to gain response from people I do not personally know and develop my weak-ties. This is the question I created and hope to get some response from:

Image: Print screen: How old is too old to have a child? - Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers. 2012. [ONLINE] Available at:http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Apcjw9ocWfaZIhCPOXxM2fsgBgx.;_ylv=3?qid=20120223154619AAImalc. [Accessed 23 February 2012].

The Strength of Weak-Ties

Weak-tie contact within a network is another way of describing distant contacts. The further away one person is from another, the more useful the information becomes that is passed between them. This may seem counterintuitive but in theory it makes sense. Most people when asked who they would turn to if they were looking for a new job would reply with friends or family. however this is the wrong thing to do, by doing this you are less likely to tap into knowledge we could achieve from people of a distance. This is because people we know, know what we already know.

Living in 'homophilous' groups we access the same knowledge as the rest of the group, by removing yourself you develop a chance of accessing new knowledge from 'week-tie' acquaintances who share few things in common. Good networks should contain high numbers of weak-ties to generate this unique knowledge.