Monday, February 28, 2011

Friends of Friends

This is one of the things that I thought made me weird.  Apparently, not.   I'm a social network builder.  And it makes me even happier as I get older. 
1. Triadic closure. In a phenomenon called “triadic closure,” people tend to befriend the friends of their friends – and this is very satisfying. Friendships thrive on inter-connection, and it’s both energizing and comforting to feel that you’re building not just friendships, but a social network. I now make much more of an effort to help my friends become friends with each other, and to befriend friends’ friends. (Total non sequitur: “befriend friends’ friends” is quite a phrase! Bad writing, but I couldn’t resist.)- Gretchen Rubin