A collection of strong and weak ties comprise the innovation ecosystem's social network. Strong ties are those with whom you interact most and have an emotional bond such as your family, friends, and close co-workers. Weak ties are your acquaintances and business colleagues. To reduce the over embeddedness of knowledge, a continual flow of rejuvenating information within the innovation ecosystem is necessary. When networks are comprised mainly of strong, dense ties, there is a risk they will not include any new knowledge that can be brought to bear on a particular problem. When only around like minded people we are often susceptible to the Illusion of Validity even in the face of facts counter to our beliefs. The echo chambers of social media are a prime example of this phenomenon. Despite research suggesting a mix of strong ties and weak ties are the most favorable to encouraging innovation, people and organizations tend to gravitate to homogenized environments, and as a result, they have access to the same information.  This over-reliance on strong ties can result in firms failing due to the lack of new information to address the problems they are facing or validate a failing solution. Unfortunately, due to this illusion of validity, homogenization of the network, and an absence of an appreciation of new knowledge from seemingly unrelated industries further diminishes the capacity for innovation.