How Many TRIADs Should You Join?
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A person can be a member of multiple TRIADs with different people for
different purposes. One can anticipate that some TRIADs will be of
short duration, such as one(s) that one might join at a conference or a
public event. When the event ends the members of the TRIAD may decide
to extend its existence, but perhaps most often not.
Even at a single event one might simultaneously be a member of several
TRIADs. They may be in a TRIAD with individuals with whom they are
attending the event. Members of other TRIADs may come and introduce
them to someone and suggest that they form a TRIAD because of particular
interests. Being a member of a TRIAD involves more than just making someone's acquaintance and we shall get into that subject shortly, but let us look here how a TRIAD network may evolve; there is absolutely no set pattern and it may be in any form imaginable. But in a large conference where the participants put the technique to use there certainly can be a total number of TRIADs that is a multiple of the number of the participants in the conference. 
Members of a TRIAD may choose to sit together throughout a conference or to be on the same TEAM or subgroup if the conference has some sessions in subgroups. Members of a TRIAD may take breaks together, share notes, join each other for supper and so forth. Or they may not. In some large conferences there are many simultaneous sessions and the members of a TRIAD may decide that each will attend a different session so that they can rejoin later to share notes and materials gathered at the different sessions. Or, in large conferences that perhaps have vendor displays spread over several buildings, they may each go a different direction and look for vendors and materials that apply to each other's interests. The variety and diversity of ways in which TRIAD members can support each other is immense. Individually they may be very different from each other in their specialties and interests so that they may be able to help each other gather information and make contacts in those specialties. Conversely, a TRIAD partner in one TRIAD may be able to introduce one of his partners to someone else of a mutual interest, say someone with an interest in the partner's company, so that a new TRIAD may be started. This is in itself the power of networking and how it is enhanced by the power of TRIADs, because the TRIAD partners have a responsibility to look out for each of the other partner's interests. Realistically, given the random manner in which the initial TRIADs were formed, many may not work out. However, if the members of the initial TRIADs, and those established subsequently, make a conscious effort to introduce each other to other people, it is most likely that many more valuable contacts will be established than otherwise without the TRIAD concept in place. The initial TRIADs may serve little purpose but to help the members to make more valuable contacts. After a few iterations the number of people finding better and more valuable links should grow immensely. There will simply not be time to nurture every TRIAD. One can probably find time to physically join the members of only one TRIAD during a break. One can only sit in one TRIAD during a presentation, and so forth. But this certainly does not mean that one should be limited to one TRIAD. One TRIAD of which one is a member may agree to always get together for breakfast or at some particular location during particular break times. Another of which one is a member may choose to have dinner together in the evenings. No matter; TRIADs at conferences and such public meetings should result in a number of contacts and significantly enhance what one will get out of such occasions compared to wandering about unknown. Conference coordinators who wish to truly take advantage of the TRIAD mechanism in order to enhance their conferences could set up TRIAD coordinating facilities. Individuals who find that they do not fit into their initial random TRIAD can then meet others at a TRIAD coordinating table, in the TRIAD meeting room or through such other facility as the conference sets up. There may always be 'loners' without the social skills to take advantage of the TRIAD opportunities and they may find themselves continuously 'shut out' after numerous attempts. But that is unlikely. Anyone persistent enough to make numerous attempts is most likely going become part of a viable TRIAD. We have addressed a special case of short-term conferences and the like, and many longer duration activities such as attendance at college or school may not be much different. Somewhat more durable TRIADs, at least for the duration of the overall activity, may be formed and the degree of benefit may likewise be enhanced. However, in life itself one needs to establish more permanent TRIADs and, again, the question arises as to how many. For intense TRIADs one probably can only support one or two simultaneously in their life because otherwise they will not, in fairness to the other members, be able to give the TRIAD the attention it deserves and the TRIADs would then detract from other life activities. As with all things in life, there is a balance; it is quite conceivable that one could spend all their time TRIADing and social networking and not get anything else done. Still one may be a member in a number of lesser TRIADs, such as in clubs and organizations to which they belong. Which TRIADs will be intense depends upon the focus of the individual members’ lives. Some peoples' lives are focused on a club or hobby activity, or religious or political activity, or most anything else that they primarily identify with. But for most people, in addition to having a primary TRIAD, having lower level TRIADs regarding ancillary activities, such as clubs, may be sufficient. A club TRIAD may be with a couple of members with whom one keeps up to date on club activities, who make sure that each other are aware of the club calendar, upcoming events, meetings and so forth, and who perhaps share rides to the meetings, and who more or less get together at the meetings. One may also have other TRIADs dealing with health issues, problems or interests of other family members -- such as soccer moms who coordinate transportation -- or many, many other activities. For many people, the distinction will not yet be clear between being a member of a TRIAD and just having friends or being members of a group, and there is nothing to preclude one from opting for the latter. On the other hand, as will be seen in the next section, there can be advantages to TRIADs for even some of these functions. The greatest benefit of a TRIAD comes from one that is formed at the deepest and most personal level in the core of one's life. For these, one will have only one, or at most two, such TRIADs active in their life at any one time; in later chapters we will be giving much consideration to the nature of such TRIADs. At the other extreme, TRIADs may also be the most efficient means of setting up extremely wide ranging networks as described in the Ark Two SAFE Ham Net dialog below.
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