What are We but Networks

Currently listening to:  Stay With You (Goo Goo Dolls)

Recently, I have been repeatedly told that the key to getting a job you want is to know people; to take advantage of your networks and apply with personal recommendations.  This means that your "recommender," the one holding the golden key, is putting their reputation on the line for you.  If you fail, their word has lost value.  So, is your whole life not just one big job interview?

We are built on these "networks."  They are the foundation of civilized society, what many people claim differentiates us from animals.  We interact with others.  We empathize with a fleeting image on TV or a story of hope we read in that chain email.  The networks of our life are our life.  So to me, it is superficial to tell someone to take advantage of their networks.  You are hoping that your ability and work has made a decent enough of an impression that someone else is risking their reputation for you.  You better be pretty damn good.

So, my life consists of these networks that I enter and exit.  My family, college, hometown, camp, church, and even the folks I have known solely through the internet for years.  Each one is separate and special in its own regard.  Some may overlap here or there, but in total I have a different feeling towards each.  No one at college or home will never fully understand my camp experiences, no matter how excited I get or how much I drone on about it.  And the combination of these networks (I hate the term, it is too artificial to describe human relationships) is what I know as my life.  These are my experiences.  George Costanza knew this philosophy in the fateful episode where "relationship George" and "independent George" collide, throwing askew his daily life.  While this supersonic boom is a tad extreme, it is convenient to have a place to slip to where you can forget the "other" worries.

This means a lot for how to live ones life, and I am still trying to figure it all out.  It is tough.  In our 2-minute attention span culture, I fear this is the longest I can hold anyone's opinion before they click over to the next attention grabber.  More spontaneous thought to come.