We've always compartmentalized our relationships. Ever since I can remember I had 'school friends', 'music friends', 'hockey friends', 'university friends', 'drinking buddies' and, of course, 'best friends' and 'acquaintances' (to name a few).
Sometimes the categories are functionally-based (like drinking buddies), but often they are engagement-based; or based upon the levels of mutual trust, permission and commitment.
The interesting thing about engagement-based circles of friends is there is an inverse relationship between the size of the circle and the level of engagement. The size of the circle gets larger as engagement levels get lower.
There are three basic levels of engagement:
1. Your Core
Most people have a set of friends five to twenty people who they would consider their 'core' (or 'besties'). These are people they trust and are committed to. These are the folks that can just 'pop by' your house for supper. These are people that would drive two hundred miles to pick you up on the side of the road. These are the people you have on 'speed dial' and likely they have access to your Bat Phone.
2. Your Community
Moving further away from the core, most people have a circle of friends that I would classify as their 'community'. Typically the average size of the community is subject to Dunbar's Number which is commonly referenced at 150 people. It maxes out at that number because 150 people is roughly the number of people that individuals can manage stable social relationships. These are relationships, "in which an individual knows who each person is, and how each person relates to every other person."
Typically your community is a group of folks where you have good levels of permission, trust and commitment but there are more limits or restrictions than with those in your core. For example, there are likely folks in this group that you wouldn't be happy if they just showed up at your house for supper. Or, it might be weird if they asked you for money. Interestingly enough, many of these people make up the bulk of your Facebook friends.
3. Loose Connections
Finally, on the periphery, are your loose connections. This group may number in the hundreds and sometimes over a thousand. These are people that you 'know' by name and you may have intermittent interactions with, but the relationship is casual at best. Typically they wouldn't have your phone number or be friends with you on Facebook. The relationship is friendly, but they're not people you would consider 'friends'. Tools like Twitter are filled with folks like this.
The Tools are Catching Up
What's intriguing about these 'circles of friends' is social media sites are now starting to realize the value and potential of segmenting groups like this. For example, Google+ offers the ability to organize relationships using the same segmentation principles and Facebook just released a similar feature where you could choose to update your status targeted at specific circles.
The Cliffhanger
So how do you use these circles for business and marketing purposes? Tune in tomorrow to learn more.