Consequential Strangers - Consequential Strangers and The Network View

Consequential Strangers and The Network View

Another way to view the impact of consequential strangers is by pulling the camera back from the individual to the entire network. Each individual travels through life in what was first conceptualized in the 1980s as a "social convoy"–-an entourage of people that he or she has collected along the way. This assortment of personal ties is one type of social network.Some individuals are better or less equipped for life’s challenges and crises, not merely because of their strength or socio-economic status, but also because of the composition of their convoys. Research indicates that the best convoys are composed of a combination of intimates and consequential strangers–-people in the community, service providers, acquaintances one encounters in leisure and volunteer activities.

The perspective of the convoy enables a different view of one's life: "not as a string of events but as a cavalcade of people." Running into an old college roommate or a former employer allows an individual to revisit the past with the perspective of the present. Some close relations are part of the convoy from birth to death (parents, children), or for large portions of the journey (partners, close friends), while others (former roommates, exes) drop by the wayside. However, consequential strangers typically travel only part of the way, often for a specific function. For example, during a health crisis, medical personnel, members of support groups, and home aides might become part of an individual’s convoy for a time.

The nature of a convoy can impact well being. Epidemiological research, which has focused on both strong and weak ties, suggests that social isolation bodes badly for psychological and physiological health. In contrast, "social integration"–-having a personal network of intimates and consequential strangers–-may increase longevity and resistance to disease. For example, an ongoing series of "viral challenge" studies have been conducted over the last twenty years, in which subjects are quarantined and deliberately infected with a virus. Those who had contact in the prior two weeks with six or more types of relationships (based on their responses to a checklist of 12 relationship types, both weak and strong) are four times less likely to come down with a cold than volunteers who had three or fewer types of connections.

A diverse social convoy is also more likely to deliver tangible and emotional support when needed. It is like having a personal "grapevine," be it at work or in the community, that allows one to keep current, to find the best service provider, and to gain access to different types of resources by being a "bridge" between different groups. One sociologist theorizes that knowing people in a wide range of professions, across all socio-economic levels, confers "cultural capital," enabling an individual to talk widely on many subjects. In this way, a diverse convoy is like a "liberal arts program, teaching a little of almost everything."

Similar benefits accrue to groups and institutions. The most innovative companies are those in which executives hire a diverse workforce and are open to input from all levels of employees, not just those at the top. They seek inspiration and encourage collaboration outside their own boundaries as well, in essence drawing from the widest possible range of consequential strangers. In a similar vein, marketing experts realize that tapping into broad social networks is an effective way to promote ideas and products. The success of social movements and political campaigns also depends on peripheral connections. For example, the youthful volunteers who participated in "Freedom Summer," a massive education and voter registration initiative in 1964, were drawn into the civil rights movement by people in the community, friends of friends, teachers and preachers—in short, their consequential strangers. More recently, Barack Obama's successful bid for the Presidency in 2008 exemplified a similar phenomenon, aided and accelerated by technology.