The Power of Weak Ties
A social network is a model that maps the social interactions and relationships between people. Social networks, which can be digital and in-person, are generally composed of smaller networks and communities. Real-world networks consist of groups of densely connected people who comprise communities, which are then connected through sparsely distributed ties. A connection between one person to another is defined as a tie and can be labeled as strong or weak. Strong ties are between people that are closely interconnected with each other. Usually, you have a lot in common with your strong ties and a common circle of connections. Weak ties are ties between people that know each other, but not very well. You most likely do not have much in common with your weak ties, and most of your weak ties will not know one another.
The expansive nature of social networks is allowed via weak ties. This is how people can expand their knowledge and exposure to world events so quickly. Therefore, the removal of weak ties would be catastrophic to an overall network. In contrast, the removal of a strong tie may only lead to a smaller, controllable deviation of network function. Without weak ties, there would not be any bond between various communities and people would be deprived of relevant information. Every person would only have information local to their community, not the network in its entirety.
A prime example of the unique and powerful nature of weak ties is job hunting. The people in your immediate circle may have a limited range of connections, as they know the same people that you do. However, your weak ties open a much different, broader reach with people from other geographic areas who know different people, companies, and opportunities than you. Research has shown that the majority of employment is from weak ties. Sinan Aral, a management professor at MIT detailing the results of a study of over 20 million LinkedIn users, advocates in disagreement of the “paradox of weak ties” which states strong ties are more useful in the job market. The conducted study evidence in his favor, arguing that weak ties are more useful when seeking employment, particularly in digitally oriented industries. This is because we have many more weak ties than strong ties. While individual weak ties may be “weaker” than an individual strong tie— when compiled, weak ties prove to be much more useful.
Weak ties enable the circulation of relationships, knowledge, and opportunities. If cultivated and continued, the seemingly weak ties may intertwine your various networks together to encourage a larger network, or even introduce you to a network you’ve been seeking. The discovered importance of weak ties contradicts the superior labeling and nature of supposedly “strong” ties, in argument that weak ties are more valuable.
https://news.mit.edu/2022/weak-ties-linkedin-employment-0915
https://towardsdatascience.com/the-power-of-weak-ties-f1049c93f3a3