Korva is a scroll of the internet’s best ideas.
Someone comes across something impressive, such as a product, a post, or a person mentioned at a barbecue, and posts that person's profile or X post in the channel. Others reply that they have heard of the person or know them, and a rally forms around how to get them in the door.
The thread works out a quick strategy for engaging the person, including what might be compelling to them. Non-recruiters across the company do the surfacing, and the channel is described as super active.
Most companies hire from applications and referrals, which rarely reach people who are not job hunting. Not every idea in the channel is right for the company, but the channel adds a tangential injection to the hiring process that often leads to a great outcome.
Why do distant acquaintances surface the best leads?
Sociologist Mark Granovetter interviewed professionals in a Boston suburb for his 1973 paper The Strength of Weak Ties. Most had found their jobs through contacts they saw only occasionally or rarely. Weak ties connect separate social circles, so they carry information that a close circle already shares. A channel that gathers observations from many employees taps many such circles at once.
Why do shared channels spark ideas?
Thomas Allen of MIT studied research laboratories in the 1970s and found that the frequency of communication between two people dropped sharply as the distance between their desks grew. The pattern became known as the Allen curve. A shared digital channel removes that distance cost for anyone who reads it. Ideas posted in the open can then reach people who would never have heard them otherwise.
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