Networks made fast grow brittle. Name exchanges, light talk, social media connections—then silence for years. Nothing fails dramatically; it just evaporates. Someone set one rule at twenty and let it compound. Twenty years later, they have not a hundred casual contacts, but twenty people they can actually call.
Size matters far less than depth
New venues offer countless connection opportunities. Exchange cards, chat briefly, stay loosely linked on social platforms. These are "knows" not relationships.