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How Big Should Your Network Be? - Forbes

Written by Brandon Klein | Jan 8, 2014 2:52:08 AM

There is a debate happening between software developers and scientists: How large can and should our networks be in this evolving world of social media? The answer to this question has dramatic implications for how we look at our own relationship building.

“…It’s been really hard for me to see an incongruence between your writing on authentic relationship building and how I feel about our relationship.”

My heart sank as I read these words in an email from a close, long-time friend.
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I felt frustrated at myself for letting her down. I feared that there were others close to me that felt the same way. At the same time, I had never committed more time and effort to relationship building. Was I spreading myself too thin?

Over the past half year of writing on relationship building for Forbes, there is one fundamental challenge that I – and most of the people I interview – struggle with.

How do we keep in touch with an ever-growing network given our limited time and cognitive ability?