Networking

The noun network dates to the 1550s, when it described an open fabric of threads or wires.1 By the 1830s, it was applied to railway systems, and by the 1910s, to broadcasting and electrical circuits. The social sense, describing a system of interconnected people who exchange information, emerged in the 1940s and 1950s, but the verb to network, meaning to cultivate professional contacts, did not appear until the 1970s and 1980s.2

The word's migration from machines to people coincided with the rise of what sociologist Mark Granovetter called "the strength of weak ties." In a 1973 paper in the American Journal of Sociology, Granovetter demonstrated that job seekers were more likely to find employment through acquaintances than through close friends, because acquaintances moved in different social circles and carried different information.3

The practice that Granovetter studied had existed long before it had a name. Guilds, lodges, social clubs, and alumni associations all functioned as networks. What changed in the late twentieth century was the explicit framing of human relationships as infrastructure, a system to be built and maintained for professional advantage.4

LinkedIn, founded in 2003, formalized the concept digitally. By 2024, the platform had over 900 million members in more than 200 countries.5 The language of networking now saturates career advice, university orientation programs, and job listings, where "strong networking skills" appears as a qualification alongside technical competencies.