Roll: 19108 Section: B

SESSION 3
In this session, concepts of networking and building relationships with others were explored.
There are some for whom it comes naturally and there are others who considers networking
unnecessary, unethical and even manipulative. But networking is important. A lot of learning
and collective benefits are attached to it. Another concept discussed was echo chambers, i.e.,
to what extent our networks overlap. This degree of embeddedness has both pros and cons.
Clusters with a broker help wider coverage while a more compact network is good for
maintaining confidentiality.
I have grown up in a joint family and have had the same set of friends my entire school life.
Because of always being surrounded by the same people, I struggled to make friends during
my college days. I just could not open up to people as I had already formed a comfort zone.
Later I did make few good friends, but it took a lot of time and efforts. But the worst part was
I was not able to approach others for help. I thought the other person is not an acquaintance
and hence, why would he/she be interested in helping me. I despised networking. I regarded it
as an activity to derive undue benefits.
Reflecting on my past, it appears that it was all in my head. I did not attempt to look at
networking from another angle which in reality is very good – It opens up new opportunities,
we get to know different people, we get to learn an array of things which we did not even knew
existed. I can also serve as medium of networking between different groups which again only
increases my rapport with them. At the end, all that matters is the intention with which I’m
approaching people.