Beeyond Buzzwords: Networking

Written By Kevin Xia

In our Bee-yond Buzzwords blog series, we’ve been unpacking the terms we use at Hive to deepen our shared understanding of the work we do together. So far, we’ve explored “coordination” and “hands-on community building.” Now, we're diving into a concept that's core to how people find their footing and make an impact in our community: networking.

Networking, in some ways, feels like the ultimate buzzword. It is very commonly used, generally acknowledged as important, often encouraged and praised… but, often lacks clarity. For many farmed animal advocates, networking feels transactional, awkward, and uncomfortable — a kind of forced exchange of value rather than real connection. 

But what if we reframed it?

At Hive, we see networking less as a transaction and more as an act of gardening. Let me explain: you can’t force a seed to grow, but you can create the conditions where growth becomes possible. We believe relationships work the same way: you can’t force connections and collaboration, but you can cultivate the conditions where they are far more likely to take root and flourish. 

This post is about how to network inside the Hive community – or, to put it another way, how to tend your own professional garden within a community designed to amplify your impact.

Surface Area for Serendipity

“Surface area for serendipity” is a phrase I use to describe the number of ways others can find you, remember you, trust you, and want to collaborate with you. It’s often informal, unpaid, behind-the-scenes and driven by relationships. But in practice, it’s what gets people hired, invited, funded, or pulled into projects.

The core idea here is about increasing your “surface area for serendipity”: an idea, our Executive Director, Sofia, has written about before. We prefer the word serendipity rather than luck, because while both involve change, luck can be perceived in more than one way.  Serendipity conveys the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. Luck, on the other hand, can have positive or negative connotations and often suggests things that are completely outside of our control. 

This entire concept is a riff on “Luck Surface Area”, so it’s useful to understand the original concept as it helps show how it works and its two characteristics.

Let’s get specific. The original Luck Surface Area equation is L=D*T, where:  

L = The luck you experience

D = Doing (Doing something you have passion for and can develop expertise in)

T = Telling (The total number of people meaningfully aware that you’re doing something)

Of course, increasing your Luck Surface Area can feel easier said than done – especially if you’re passionate about having an impact in the farmed animal advocacy movement, but are still growing your expertise, or trying to transition your career and aren’t sure how your skills fit in. It can feel as though there are very few meaningful opportunities to boost the “Doing” part, especially before you’ve secured a role.

How do you start? 

The general principle is: show up consistently where your potential collaborators or employers hang out, and let your strengths be visible.

Sofia’s dedicated post on the topic, How Unofficial Work Gets You Hired, offers additional ideas and specific examples. Here’s a short excerpt: 

There’s no one right style — the key is being findable and showing your strengths in your voice.

Some common ways I’ve seen people build surface area for serendipity:

  • A short, thoughtful DM that sparks a real conversation

  • Commenting on others’ work with insight or encouragement

  • Sharing helpful resources or tools in relevant spaces

  • Taking on a small task or pilot project to demonstrate your skills

  • Making your thinking visible, even if it’s rough — e.g., blog posts, notes, frameworks

  • Hosting or starting something informal: a reading group, online event, or small collaboration

  • Volunteering your skills where they’re needed most, not just where they’re asked for

  • AAC just recently published a new post about Marketing Yourself in Animal Advocacy with more ideas you can use.

So what does this have to do with Hive?

Every day, we see our inspiring community members growing their Luck Surface Area. No matter where they are, which events they can attend, or their career stage.

At Hive, we try to offer accessible and diverse ways to increase both D (Doing) and T (Telling). Here are several ways we see Hivers increasing the chances of great outcomes:

  • Introducing themselves

  • Learning relevant context

  • Sharing what they can offer 

  • Responding to help requests

  • Collaborating on new projects

  • Supporting fellow Hivers in their goals

  • Learning about new opportunities daily 

  • Connecting with others facing similar challenges 

  • Sparking new connections with our events

  • Chatting with 1 new person every 3 weeks in our [Donut] channel

  • Finding or creating unique ways to get involved in the movement

  • Staying involved and feeling belonging (regardless of how the job search is going)

The results? We see it all the time. At Hive, we support a global community of over 4,500 farmed animal advocates — many of them job seekers or career shifters. We’ve seen how increasing surface area for serendipity can lead to opportunities that aren’t just theoretical — they’re real and replicable.

Here are some common patterns we’ve observed:

  • A volunteer contributing a few hours/week becomes the go-to person for a new job opening.

  • A regular Slack contributor gets job referrals from people they’ve never met.

  • A side project grows into a fundable initiative or formal role.

  • People who never apply for a job end up getting invited in because their work is already known and trusted.

What do these people have in common? They are steadily showing up, being helpful, and letting others see their work — even in small ways. Sometimes it can feel hard to put yourself out there. Luckily (pun intended), Hivers show us that there are many ways to do it, depending on your personality, goals, capacity, and interests.

Weeds in the Garden: Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Just as with gardening, certain habits can hinder growth. Here are a few things to steer clear of as you tend to your network (or garden):

  • Disappearing. Like a plant without water, trust withers without consistency. It’s better to contribute one thoughtful comment a week for six months than to post constantly for a few days and then vanish.

  • Being unreliable. Don't let your commitments wither on the vine. If you offer to help with something, follow through. Delivering great work, even on small, unpaid tasks, is how you build a reputation for being someone people can count on. Top tip: Start (really) small, taking on discrete, fixed-term tasks that might seem “too” small or less than you can handle. Better to underpromise and overdeliver as the classic advice goes!

  • Forgetting to circle back. If someone offers you advice or a connection, let them know what happened. It’s a simple act of respect that closes the loop and strengthens the relationship.

  • Oversharing. It's important to avoid overcrowding your plot. Focus on quality over quantity; being thoughtful and intentional is far more effective than trying to comment on everything.

Start Small, Stay Consistent

Building your surface area for serendipity isn't about grand gestures. It's about small, steady actions that create opportunities. It's a more human, strategic, and ultimately more effective way to find your place and flourish in the movement.

As Cate Hall says: It sounds stupidly simple, but it’s profound: the more times you interact with the outside world, the more chances you have to get lucky — to find the collaborators, friends, and projects that, together, provide the right soil for you to bloom in.

At Hive, we’re committed to being that soil – the place where your ideas and connections can take root. So, introduce yourself, share your work, and be generous with your insights! You never know which small act of gardening will blossom (lead to your next big opportunity). 

In summary 

In this post, we explored a key buzzword, networking, through the idea of your “surface area for serendipity.”  It’s been floating around the internet for over a decade. While we focused on how you can increase your surface area for serendipity to find a role in farmed animal advocacy, the idea of course is universal and applicable to any sector. 

In life, creating and connecting meaningfully is all about finding sustainable (dare we say, enjoyable) ways to share your ideas and actions with the world, so you can find the right people and they can find you. If you can turn this into a rhythm, rather than a one-off effort, and find a way to enjoy it, then you’re off to a fantastic start. 

Start small. Experiment to find what works. Use the concept to take action – and shape it in a way that fits your capacity, interests, and goals. These small, steady steps make a real difference in your ability to connect and achieve your goals in life.

At Hive, creating the containers, conditions, and culture where thousands of farmed animal advocates can grow their own surface area for serendipity,  in their own way, is one of the most motivating and important parts of our work. 

Resources to dive deeper

Kevin Xia
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