Granovetter’s study seeks to apply patterns of interaction on the macro level to micro-interactions.  I found Granovetter’s scientific and mathematical approach to the paper to be interesting and thought-provoking.  By quantifying the people as basic letters and defining their interpersonal networks as mathematical sets, I was interested in Granovetter’s approach to the argument.  I was, however, I was a bit alarmed at the terminology used in the article that seemed to dehumanize the supposed subjects, particularly in the discussion of central and marginal individuals.  The terms “central” and “marginal” are, in effect, euphemisms for judging a person’s popularity among his or her inner circle.  The so-called marginal individuals are those with a tendency to not be linked to as many of the other people with whom they interact, whereas the central individuals are those with significantly more sociometric bridges and consequently more weak ties.  It is interesting to note that these terms seem to be euphemisms for describing the extent to which a person is popular or well-connected to a group.

Further, I found Granovetter’s study of the ways in which people receive work-related information to be quite interesting.  According to his results, the majority of people obtain references to and recommendations about job openings from those with whom they interact occasionally (in this case, individuals whom they see less than twice a week, but more than once a year).  This point does seem intuitive, as being acquainted with someone one sees occasionally denotes that the two are close enough to keep up correspondence over a period of time; this closeness also suggests that the persons in question probably share personal information with each other when they meet.  When seeing someone after some time, one is more inclined to share long-term plans and non-trivial goals.  In the case of those that interact frequently, conversations are usually based on short term events (for example, plans for the coming week), because there is a guarantee that one will see the other person in the near future to discuss these short-term plans.