What Kevin Bacon Teaches Us About Networking
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Daniel Parris of Stat Significant recently published Quantifying' The Kevin Bacon Game': A Statistical Exploration of Hollywood's Most Connected Actors. In this article, Parris provides a statistical analysis of actor connections and an interesting network diagram of the connections between the top fifty actors.
All of this is based on the Six Degrees of Separation theory, which grew out of Stanley Milgram's research into what he describes as the Small World Problem. The concept was first proposed in Frigyes Karinthy's 1929 short story Chains. In the 1990s, the theory became a game: Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. The game was inspired by Bacon's comment that "he had worked with everybody in Hollywood or someone who's worked with them."
As research continued, the academic discipline of Network Science was developed. This discipline studies complex networks of all types, including telecommunication, computer, biological, cognitive, and social networks.
In any network, there are nodes. In Parrish's article, he shares a graphic of Hollywood nodes. The larger the node, the more direct connections the actor has. Part of what makes the Kevin Bacon game fun is that he is well connected, but only ranks 64th on the list. This means you need to work harder to find the links to other actors.
The implications for most people are straightforward. To network effectively, we need two things. We have to know where our networks fit into the six degrees of separation and how our strong networks connect to the right nodes. We also need to position our request so that the second and third-level connections will feel comfortable taking us to the next level.
David Burkus's book, Friend Of A Friend . . .: Understanding the Hidden Networks That Can Transform Your Life and Your Career, explores how to leverage our networks effectively.
Effective networking is intentional and deliberate. It can be uncomfortable for those of us who are more introverted. We just have to work through it.
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Quotes
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.”
- Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss)
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- Martin Luther King Jr.
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You can order The Leader With A Thousand Faces on the Recommended Reading Page of my website.
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