An October 17, 2009, column in The New York Times, titled “Networks Too Big for Their Own Good” questions the “strength” and utility of weak ties in the age of social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Author Jon Picoult writes of the implications of networking in large networks for employers and recruiters seeking qualified candidates for jobs:

 “As the definition of people’s “networks” has expanded to include not just colleagues they’ve known for a decade, but also practically everyone they pass on the street, the quality of those connections has been greatly diluted. What rational conclusions can companies draw from this relationship game?”

 The full article is available here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/jobs/18pre.html?ref=jobs