This exercise showed me how in our lives we have clusters of people from various parts of our lives.  The interesting thing is that most of the people within the individual clusters actually start to link with each other as I am the constant.  Whether that be Nisha Sachdev-Patel meeting Alia Pirani and Fazilah Bhanji when she came to Toronto to see me, or Jamie Cullen connecting with Alia Pirani and Fazilah Bhanji over my Anniversary celebrations.

The exercise clearly demonstrates that no one exists in isolation. The network of influence is really strong. Regardless of the progress that the internet and Social Media make, people will still always be connected by people as trust is an important part of our being. Looking at the positive side of it, Social Media provides the perfect vehicle to enhance these connections and keep our network strong. Using professional tools liked LinkedIn gives us the opportunity to see each others networks and request introductions where applicable. On a more social level, it can be used to put together two of your friends who don’t know each other but have something in common, for example, they may be moving to the same place.

This is a very small map of my network and my life.  I can easily see how we rely on these connections for a multitude of things; friendship, learning, working for the greater good, career progression or whatever it may be.