weak ties
Not close friends
Weak ties are casual acquaintances rather than close friends or family—the coworker you chat with occasionally, the neighbor you wave to, the friend of a friend you met once at a party.
The term comes from sociology, where research shows these loose connections often prove surprisingly valuable for finding jobs, spreading information, and bridging separate social circles.
Strong ties share your world; weak ties connect you to new ones.
- acquaintancesPeople known slightly
- networkingBuilding professional relationships
- social capitalResources from interpersonal networks
- connectionsRelationships between things
- loose connectionsUnstable points of attachment
casual acquaintance · casual · peripheral · outer circle · bridging · social · contacts · distant · friend of a friend · colleagues · neighbors · water cooler · familiar · strangers · introductions · chance encounter · opportunities · job leads
- social capitalconnections, networks, relationships, reciprocity, social bonds
- contactsfriend, family, contact list, neighbor, acquaintances
- social networksfriends, followers, mutual friends, friend requests, social circle
- networkingrouter, routers, LAN, WAN, switches
- Six DegreesKevin Bacon, degrees, separation, connection, mutual friends
- network theorynodes, edges, centrality, hubs, clustering
weak tiesstrong ties
Intimate, enduring relationships
intimate relationships · inner circle · bosom friends · confidants · best friends
weak, weaker, weakest, weaken, weakens, weakened, weakening, weakly, weakness