Is Your Network Visible to Itself?

Thank you to those who provided me feedback on last week’s inaugural edition of the Network Wrangler! Based on your feedback, we’re deploying a new structure for this week’s edition with sections devoted to the following topics:

1. Tips on managing your existing network

2. Tips on growing your network

3. A business idea that leverages networks

4. Quick links to items related to networking

Re-Engage Your Network in Plain Sight

It’s no surprise that the levels of loneliness and social isolation due to the COVID lockdown persist even today. While we’re connected on many social platforms (LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, etc), we still feel disconnected from each other as we work to get back to pre-COVID levels of network engagement.

At a moment’s notice, we can hop on our devices and spend time scrolling through feeds to see our friends/connections posting what they’re up to. So why do we feel so isolated and lonely?

Part of the challenge is that we’re in a consumer role when we scroll. We’re consuming the content created by our networks (e.g., taking value out) and not providing value back into our networks (reciprocity) by interacting with the content via liking/commenting/sharing.

The business models of the big social networks are to track all our connections and their activities and then use algorithmic interpretations of “interestingness” to highlight the content we see in our feed:

• how recently was it posted?

• who has reacted to it?

• who has commented/reblogged it?

• how many people have seen it?

Each interaction impacts how likely we are to see what our network is up to. And the social platforms are constantly tweaking the algorithms to keep us engaged longer (and exposed to more ads, naturally).

So, how can we use this phenomenon to our advantage in creating value for our networks on these platforms?

Part of the solution lies in the ways we make our network visible to itself.

Have you ever looked at someone’s post on LinkedIn and seen the name of a former, respected colleague in the list of reactions you didn’t realize you both knew? This is the kind of “making your network visible to itself” I’m talking about.

There’s intrinsic value to this “a-ha! I know them too!” realization because these shared contacts ramp up the connectedness and kinship we feel with others. It also ramps up our trust in our network when we see that our mutual contacts are also high-caliber folks.

So, the small ways we interact on social platforms can have an outsized impact on the feeling of connectedness. The more we do things visible to others (I call this “1-to-many”), the greater the chance we have to make our extended network visible to itself.

I’ve created a chart listing eight ways you can interact with your network, and you see that many of the 1:many activities require low effort.

There are times when you want to focus on a single person in your network to nurture your relationship because it makes sense in your broader network strategy. For the benefit of your network, consider appearing on their radar via one of the 1:many network activities before going for the direct 1:1 connect.

Doing so can provide new and exciting ways for your network to strengthen independently due to the visibility you’ve provided about your connections. A network that’s visible to itself will grow for your benefit, whether you’re interacting or not.

Massive Gatherings = Waste of Networking Time

If you’re looking to turbo-boost your network growth strategy, you might be tempted to attend a huge conference where trading business cards is the order of the day. As of the publish date on this newsletter, there’s but a single day left in CES 2024 where over 130,000 people have descended upon Las Vegas to “be part of the most powerful tech event in the world.”

Without a well-executed strategic plan for targeted network growth, attending a massive conference is a waste of your networking time.

At a gathering as big as CES, you’d think the network-building opportunities would be off the charts. Unfortunately, this proximity does not bring results without a lot of effort on your part (time and money) to navigate the logistics of getting around the Vegas crowds and demand-driven prices of the venues.

Suppose you’re looking to ramp your network size in person. In that case, I’d recommend targeting a niche gathering of several hundred people where you can execute your strategic plan for targeted network growth.

A good strategic plan for networking includes the following:

• Prioritized list of desired new connections

• Value to offer each new connection

• Common interests shared with each new connection

• Method to track connections made

So, while I love spending time in Vegas in January as much as the next person, I don’t go to scale my network massively. I’d much rather be pleasantly surprised to find out the person at the poker table next to me has something to offer away from the felt (after I’ve taken his money).

Networking Business: NewTNC = Bespoke Uber

Thanks to my end-of-year travel, I spent a lot of time interacting with Transportation Network Companies (TNCs), more commonly known as Uber and Lyft. I love that the TNCs are a technological marriage of (at least) two networks: drivers and passengers. If we bring in Uber Eats, we’ve got even more networks of food purveyors and eaters.

But let’s focus on the driving/riding networks for now. I suffered from terrible taxi and SuperShuttle service over decades, and I love the TNCs for what they’ve done to create a new, faster and cheaper solution. However, the disruptive phase of the TNCs is now morphing into the phase of established business pains.

Over the last few weeks, I have had a lot of opportunities to talk to Uber drivers and passengers. Two topics come up again and again in these conversations: money and safety.

An article in Forbes addressed the reality that many Uber drivers live in terms of reduced income. Many other headlines followed where drivers lamented the low pay for service. And it seems every other Uber passenger has an anecdote about enduring a ride with an unsafe and/or creepy driver that they’d rather never repeat again.

I think there’s an exciting and viable business to be built that leverages the existing TNCs to create a safe and profitable new solution. A bespoke Uber, if you will. We’ll call it NewTNC

NewTNC can address both the money and safety issues by focusing on the network of drivers for the service. Riders have already become accustomed to hopping in the cars of strangers, so it’s the drivers that will, ahem, drive this new platform.

NewTNC will ensure safety and quality rides by recruiting only the best drivers from Uber and Lyft. The airlines have status match programs to poach the best flying customers from their competitors. NewTNC can do something similar to poach the best Uber and Lyft drivers, recruiting only 5-star drivers with over 1000 drives in newer cars, with no complaints filed.

NewTNC can address the money issues by narrowing focus on the markets where there is sufficient rider demand and excluding the riskiest drivers from the books (lowering insurance costs), thereby running leaner than the existing TNCs and passing on these savings in the form of higher compensation for drivers. Riders can be lured with the safety and dependability attributes of the driver fleet.

Here in the Bay Area, we’ve got many Fortune 1000 companies with campuses up and down the peninsula. Employees and visitors to these companies need a ride between airports and hotels and meetings and dinners. NewTNC could do deals with the companies to ensure that surge usage needs are met with high-caliber drivers and a brand-consistent experience is delivered bespoke to each company willing to invest in it.

The idea for NewTNC is yours for the taking. Of course, I’m happy to keep talking about the idea. There’s a lot of detail I left out to keep this issue brief. Simply hit reply 🚗 🚗 🚗

This Week’s Quick Hits

• Confronted by too many good opportunities? Invoke the Canada Rule when you want to focus. (David Cummings on Startups)

• Science says declining a social invite is acceptable. Here are 3 tips to do so gracefully. (NPR)

• Interacting with each other is the whole point. One way we learned in 2023 that people matter. (Jim Nielsen’s Blog)

That’s all for this week! See you next Thursday.

— Thomas

Got other feedback for me? Just hit reply. I read every email.