Screenwriting : Deep vs wide - networking by Jonathan W.C. Mills

I think you are right, Jonathan. My guess is that for those who don't begin with a small network of powerful people who are fans, it can be helpful to begin with a large group of people we don't know well. From those, feel out who's work we really like, and from those, zero in on the ones who like our work as well. Then stay extremely busy doing projects with those people. The more talented they are, the more likely they (and we) will grow into a small group of equally powerful people because our collective work will be getting noticed by those powerful people who started off outside our network. Besides those happy accidents that mark the turning point of many people's careers who are indeed high-up in the industry, the above seems like the primary way to get from here to there. My 2 cents. ~Paul

I agree that it's a factor of both, but time is always an issue. In my own case, time I could be spending out 'networking' is probably better spent producing more quality work for my existing network to review. Then again, I'm in the enviable position of having representation to help make those introductions.

Don't need it to be either or. In fact, if you have powerful people, you will attract more followers of the other kind because if these powerful people communicate with you (which means you have something meaningful to say to them and aren't just a hanger-on), then their power will rub off on you. Conversely, holding court to a large crowd of people may tempt powerful people to join your network too. Always think: what do powerful people want? Everyone wants something, and your vast crowd is coverage for their message. It helps enormously, as well, with search engine optimisation, which is largely predicated on popularity.