Strong & Weak Social Networks

Types of Social Networks

In the social sciences, the study of the power of networks is part of what is called “Social Capital.” Social capital is the power and efficiency that can be leveraged by a person or group’s social network. The study of social capital identifies several types of networks. For the purposes of understanding social media and online social networking, we will discuss networks that are “stongly tied” and those that are “weakly tied.”

Networks with strong ties are those where there is redundancy of ties between various members. That is, you are connected to your friend Steve, and Steve and you both are connected to your friend Jane. These types of networks are common in a community and within family groups. A community can be anything from a small Wyoming town to a skydiving community. Wherever there are many overlapping ties, the network is strong.

These network ties can be leveraged if a member of the network needs a last-minute babysitter, or a help jump-starting a car. Networks such as this may also be powerful because they provide accountability and trust. Within the diamond wholesale business – many families are connected through generations of working in this industry. This means that trust and accountability can replace high-insurance costs when one diamond broker lends a diamond to another for examination.   These types of networks create efficiencies through trust – which is a form of capital.

Networks with weak ties create social capital as well – many researchers argue that weakly-tied networks may actually provide more capital.  While individuals within a weakly tied network may not know each other – the diversity of these individuals provide the central member with a wealth of information and potential efficiencies.

Research on weakly-tied networks includes a study which followed job seekers with both weak and strong networks. Those with weak networks were able to find jobs more quickly -- it seems that while individuals within the strongly-tied network had more of an incentive to help their connections find work, they had similar types of job “leads” because they knew the same people and opportunities that were available. Conversely, individuals with large, weakly-tied network were able to learn about opportunities farther away from their core group of friends.

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