Networking has changed: from adding contacts to building relationships

For a long time, networking was understood as simply accumulating contacts.

Adding people, exchanging business cards, connecting on networks. The wider the circle, the better. Today, in a landscape of digital overexposure and fleeting connections, that logic is beginning to show its limits.

We are more connected than ever, but not necessarily more bonded. And that difference matters.

Networking has changed, even though we still use the same word

Digital platforms have made contact easier, but they have also diluted it.

Quick messages, overloaded schedules, back-to-back virtual events. The result is familiar: many connections, little context.

A certain fatigue then emerges:

• Adding contacts that don’t translate into real conversations.

• Exchanges without continuity.

• Relationships that never fully develop.

This is not a networking crisis.

It is a sign that the model needs to be rethought.

Because being connected is not the same as being truly bonded.

The value of context: why not all connections carry the same weight

Relationships that endure rarely arise by chance. They emerge when there is a shared framework: a shared experience, a conversation with time, a genuine interest from the other side.

Context builds trust.

Shared experiences accelerate bonds.

Meaningful conversation replaces automatic exchanges.

That’s why, today, networking is starting to be seen less as accumulation and more as construction.

Why in-person meetings are becoming central again

In this new landscape, in-person meetings are regaining prominence. Not out of nostalgia, but for depth.

Time shared without screens, full attention, the ability to read gestures, silences, and nuances are regaining value. But simply “going back to in-person” is not enough.

What makes the difference is intention:

• Spaces that invite conversation

• Moments designed for exchange

• Experiences that create a shared atmosphere

It’s not just about attending, but about participating.

And that’s where networking stops being casual and becomes meaningful.

CKS Studio at the launch of Wix Studio, Wix Miami

Networking doesn’t end when the event ends

Another idea that is gaining traction is continuity. The most valuable connections rarely end with a single meeting.

Platforms that allow ongoing contact, content that extends the conversation, active communities that keep the bond alive, and follow-up actions that don’t rely on individual memory but on a system designed to sustain relationships.

When networking is designed with continuity, it stops being an isolated moment and becomes a process.

Design connections, don’t leave them to chance

Today, the real differentiator is not in how many people you connect with, but in how those connections are made and nurtured.

CKS Studio at the launch of Wix Studio, Wix Miami

Thinking of networking as an experience means accepting that it must also be designed:

the context is designed,

the journey is designed,

the way the relationship can grow over time is designed.

In a world where everything seems like a connection, the value lies in creating relationships with meaning, depth, and long-term potential. That’s where networking stops being just another activity and becomes a real asset.