Do you remember when you first signed up for Facebook? Chances are, you logged in after a conversation with some friends. They may have told you about this site where you could see their photos, share song lyrics, post thought-provoking comments (and silly ones), or simply play Candy Crush. If this sounds familiar, you have been part of a network effect. This incredible phenomenon explains how some ideas thrive and others don’t: when many people interact with a product, other new people want to give it a try as well, and soon after, boom, one-third of the world population is liking each other’s photos.
We all experience the network effect in different ways. For me, it was on my first day at Rice. I remember it clearly: a Friday afternoon in August, just 48 hours after arriving from Buenos Aires. I got lost while searching for my academic advisor and asked a group of students for directions. They didn’t know where the office was, but I introduced myself anyway, which led to an unexpected and delightful conversation.
The group turned out to be PhD students from the Computer Science department, just like me, a Master’s student in Data Science. We soon found ourselves engrossed in a lively discussion about pruning algorithms and neural networks. Similar to the network effect of Facebook, reaching out to others at Rice led me to new and exciting interactions that aligned with my interests.
It was not hard for me to start that conversation; I think that is because of mate. I come from Argentina, where we have this cool tradition of sharing mate, a hot infusion that is sipped from a particular vase (also called the mate) and meant to be shared. Each person in the circle takes a turn drinking from the mate while one person refills it with water. This act of sharing can give way to meeting new people, maybe because a friend of a friend of a friend brought their cousin over and you are like sure, nice to meet you, here’s your mate!
However, you definitely don’t need mate to overcome the challenges of moving into a new place and meeting new people. I think that the key lies in remembering that most people you come across here are in the same situation as you are. A significant portion of graduate students from Rice come from all over the world, often on their own.
And if you don’t want to wait to just come across an interesting conversation, you can always take the initiative: spot a few office doors you would like to knock on. You will be surprised how welcoming everyone is to talk about their work, interests, and what they want to do with all of that. Do you like politics? Knock on the doors of the Baker Institute, one of the US's leading public policy think tanks. Are you into startups and entrepreneurship? Step into the Lilie Lab and explore the dense network of founders, advisors, and students who want to disrupt whatever aspect of humankind you can imagine. Ultimately, you can choose from any of the thousands of faculty offices to find someone working in your area of interest.
Remember the network effect I was talking about above? I like to think that the theory holds true not only for product growth but also for personal growth. Back when I stumbled upon that group of students on my first day in Houston, I think I confirmed it: the more people you interact with, the more perspectives, ideas, and ways of working you expose yourself to, the more tools you incorporate to turn your own ideas into a reality. Being shy is logical, but I trust it suddenly wears off once you realize how likely it is that the person sitting next to you has come to a place where they do not know anyone either. And, if not, just make sure to bring your mate with you. If you don’t have one, let me know and I will surely share a round with you.
About the author:
Juan Segundo Hevia is pursuing a Master's in Data Science as part of his Fulbright scholarship.
Further Reading:
Embracing Growth: My journey in the 2023-2024 Women in Leadership cohort
From Scholar to Startup: Navigating Entrepreneurship as a Ph.D. Student at Rice University
Preparing for and Giving a Presentation at My First BIG Conference (BMES)