Reach is one thing. Notice, and more particularly trust, are quite another. Yesterday Alex gently challenged me over my assertion that six degrees of separation will soon be replaced by six clicks. Her point – and it’s a very important one – is that there is a marked difference in loyalty between degrees and clicks of separation because we generally build stronger bonds face to face than we do online, and the strength of those bonds will extend further into our networks.
Six clicks, she believes, is just too many. Alex’s view is that much after two clicks, the network is already so wide and the bonds of engagement so unsupported that people simply drop off our radar. We don’t take it any further. There is a limit to the familiarity we can, and probably choose to, leverage, and it occurs at a much earlier point than in the physical world.
In the physical world, knowing someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone is intriguing and bonding. It spurs conversation. It forges links and connection. There is an element of discovery. We have centuries-old social signals that we can rely on to probe for sincerity and credibility.
But the fact that anyone can seem to reach us from anywhere is heightened online. We trust more slowly and rely on greater familiarity to let people in – which is ironical in itself. In a world where accessibility has never been greater, we have a flat earth approach to contacts – we will only venture so far from who we know before we fear, or refuse to acknowledge, what may lie ahead.
This thought implies there is, ultimately, a finite settling point for a social network – a point where the network itself is saturated and further introductions are not welcome, even though theoretically they could go a lot further. No-one’s suggesting we’re anywhere near that point yet, but it would make an interesting anthropological study would it not?
How far does your trust extend in the real world vs the online world? How many clicks would it take for you to reach your discomfort zone?
