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A major Internet company has proven just how small the world is. But do you know how to make this information work to your advantage?
For years, it's been told that there are only six degrees of separation between us all. Recently, Microsoft has proven this notion, which is being called "The Kevin Bacon Theory."
It's named after the famous college game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon," where you name someone you know, then name someone that person knows, and you keep going until you connect yourself with the actor Kevin Bacon through six people or less.
For example, one Salt Lake City woman told me how she met Kevin Costner at the hotel she worked in. She said, "Kevin Costner came through and wanted some privacy to have a bite to eat and not be in the public eye, and I managed to find a private spot for him."
Well, she met Kevin Costner, her first degree contact, who starred in JFK, which also starred Kevin Bacon. So, she's two degrees away.
Another lady said, "I know somebody that knows the lead singer from [the rock band] Train." Train made the song "Ordinary" for Spiderman 2 which starred Kirsten Dunst. She starred with Tom Cruise in Interview with the Vampire, and Cruise starred in A Few Good Men with Kevin Bacon. You see how the game is played.
Jibberjobber.com CEO Jason Alba said, "The concept of ‘Six Degrees' is that I can know, say, some prime minister in a European country. I know somebody that knows somebody who knows somebody and within six degrees, I can meet that prime minister."
Microsoft sifted through 30 billion instant message conversations between 180 million people in June of 2006 and discovered there are on average 6.6 degrees of separation between any two people. Jason Alba says this isn't useless information
Alba said, "If I could have started networking when I was employed, or even back when I was in school, that would have been an excellent time to start developing my network."
Alba says the best thing people can do is to expand their first-degree contacts, and if someone knows how to network properly, it can really open up some doors.
"You can pick up the phone and talk to the right person when you need to. That's pretty valuable, and it makes you a more effective employee or business owner or salesperson or whatever you are," he said.
Here's an interesting side note about Alba: He knows someone who is dating the sister of Mr. T, who's made several appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, who has interviewed you-know-who.
E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com
