Your closest friends often know many of the same people and hear the same news. An acquaintance from another workplace or neighborhood may introduce an opportunity that never enters that familiar circle. Their importance comes from the connection between different parts of a network.
Weak-tie bridges can carry information across those gaps. The useful feature is not simply that the relationship is distant; it is that it reaches people and knowledge otherwise difficult to access.
Reach and support are different benefits
A casual contact may help you discover an opening but be unable to support you through a crisis. Close relationships often provide trust and sustained care that a broad acquaintance network cannot. These functions complement one another.
Nor does every weak tie connect different circles. Collecting contacts from the same setting can expand a list without expanding the range of information available. A bridge may also be difficult to use if asking for help feels unsafe or if the other side has little reason to respond.
The practical insight is to notice where your relationships lead. Shared activities across professions, generations, or neighborhoods can create encounters beyond an existing circle. Their value depends on actual exchange and mutual regard, not on maximizing the number of people you can claim to know.