Connectors and the Art of Weak Tie

One critical factor on epidemics is the nature of the messenger. Something like a pair of shoes or a new movie can become highly contagious and tip simply by being associated with a particular kind of person (a kind of person which we often fail to give them proper credit for the role they play in our lives). Gladwell distinguish between three types among them: Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen.

Connectors are those people who link us to the world, that is, people with a special gift for bringing the world together. We rely on these people more heavily than we realize. Of course, connectors know lots of people, they have a knack of making friends and acquaintances.

Most of us have a circle of friends we keep at arm's lenght, and the purpose of making a new acquaintance, is to evaluate whether we want to turn that person into a friend; we don't feel we have the time or the energy to maintain meaningful contact with everyone. Connectors, however, do not behave like that, they master the art of weak tie (a friendly yet casual social connection). They do not need to invest so much energy in one particular person and so forge a net of weak tied acquaintances.