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Put your global connections to good use.
August 6, 2026
Put your global connections (4 degrees of separation)** to good use. Even if you aren’t ready to become a Waterless Sanitation Assistance Fund Ambassador – see https://ecowaterlesstoilets.com/donate/wsafap/ you probably know someone who is. So reach out and share the opportunity to help advance safe, dignified and environmentally sustainable sanitation for communities that need it most.
** 4 degrees of separation
The traditional pop-culture rule is six degrees of separation, but large-scale data studies show that the true average is 6.6 degrees globally—and even fewer among social media users.
The Traditional Rule (6 Degrees): Originated from a 1929 short story by Frigyes Karinthy and was reinforced by psychologist Stanley Milgram’s 1967 “Small World” experiment. It posits that anyone on Earth is six or fewer social introductions away from any other person.
The Global Message Data (6.6 Degrees): A massive Microsoft data analysis of 30 billion electronic messages found that the exact average chain length between random global pairs is 6.6 hops. This means roughly 78% of people can connect in 7 steps or fewer.
The Social Media Effect (3.57 Degrees): As the world has become more digitally connected, the gap has shrunk. A comprehensive Meta Research study of 1.6 billion Facebook users found that the average distance dropped to just 3.57 degrees of separation.
References:
(1) Microsoft study confirms ‘Kevin Bacon’ theory. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna25988549
See also sixdegrees.org • connect@sixdegrees.org
(2) Six Degrees of Separation | BBC Documentary 2018 (25,794 views)
https://youtu.be/-8w-3oe1uJo
(3) Proof! Just six degrees of separation between us
https://www.theguardian.com/…/2008/aug/03/internet.email
(4) Six degrees of separation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_degrees_of_separation
(5) Facebook cuts six degrees of separation to four, by Barnett, Emma (22 November 2011). Telegraph.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/…/Facebook-cuts-six-degrees.
Facebook’s data team released two papers in November 2011 which document that amongst all Facebook users at the time of research (721 million users with 69 billion friendship links) there is an average distance of 4.74. Facebook reported that the distance had decreased to 4.57 in February 2016, when it had 1.6 billion users (about 22% of the world population)
(6) Four Degrees of Separation, by Backstrom, Lars; Boldi, Paolo; Rosa, Marco; Ugander, Johan; Vigna, Sebastiano (2011-11-19). “Four Degrees of Separation”.
https://arxiv.org/abs/1111.457
(7) Waterless Sanitation Assistance Fund Ambassador
https://ecowaterlesstoilets.com/donate/wsafap/
(8) Linked in post https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dmasynergetics_put-your-global-connections-4-degrees-of-share-7490606712379502594-6eIv/