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Phil Agre: Networking on the Networkwriting

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Source

  • Author: Craig Bellamy (posting/discussing Philip Agre's guide)
  • Date: November 27, 2004
  • URL: https://www.craigbellamy.net/2004/11/27/phil-agre-networking-on-the-network/
  • Original work by: Philip Agre, Department of Information Studies, UCLA
  • Alternate source: https://homes.cs.washington.edu/~mernst/advice/agre-networking-on-the-network-20050814.html
  • Note: The originally provided URL path and the Wayback Machine archive both failed. The correct URL was located via web search. Page content was minimal on fetch (WordPress template with truncated body).

    • Content

    Craig Bellamy's post references Philip Agre's well-known guide "Networking on the Network: A Guide to Professional Skills for PhD Students," which became a classic of internet-era academic advice writing.

    About the Original Guide

    Agre's "Networking on the Network" provides practical advice for graduate students and early-career academics on building professional networks. The guide includes:

  • A simple six-step model of the networking process
  • Advanced topics including identifying emerging themes in research areas
  • Guidance on publishing decisions
  • The relationship between professional networks and dissertations

    • Significance

    The guide is notable as an example of Agre's practical, accessible writing style -- distinct from his more theoretical academic work. It demonstrates his commitment to democratizing knowledge about academic career development and his understanding of how internet communication was transforming professional relationships in academia.

    This text circulated widely through Agre's Red Rock Eater News Service mailing list and was frequently shared and reposted across academic communities, becoming one of his most widely read pieces alongside his more theoretical contributions.