I am new to the internet and LinkedIn. I look forward to applying some of the ideas listed in your article.

Karen

Thank you for your insights.

Since you posted your article LinkedIn has become a very popular resource to connect headhunters, hiring managers and professional job candidates. With this end in mind members are maximizing their connections in order to expand either their reach (headhunters) or their visibility (candidates).

One places one’s e-mail address in one’s name or high up in one’s profile to facilitate invitations and connections.

While this is not what the founding fathers had in mind, it nevertheless serves a valuable purpose.

Larry Brauner

[Editor's note: It is a violation of LinkedIn's User Agreement to "Post content in fields that aren’t intended for that content. Example: Putting an address in a name or title field." LinkedIn has slowly but surely started cracking down on this practice.]

Nice to visit with you here. Your review is accurate. I found personally that growing into the tool gradually is what worked for me.

What I think is also very useful is this tool can become a way to stay in touch with people you have worked with through the years that you actually have history with–who may be your best source of referrals for job opportunities or business prospects if you have your own company.

As a social network analyst, I also would love it, if this tool could let us categorize our contacts based on how we relate to them. Not everyone is a potential customer or referral source. Some people offer degrees of talent and opportunity that is worthwhile working with more intelligently.

Some people, who link in with me are people I want to get to know, while others I have worked with, had a client relationship with or simply learn with and follow for the career advice and learning opportunity.

Cheers,
Lavinia

I read your analysis of LinkedIn and fully agree with your assesment. I also find your article extremelly helpful and refreshing. If you allow me, this is my experience with LinkedIN.

First I widly used LinkedIN, got myself 20 contacts or so and a few references, then went looking in their contacts to find potential customers.

Needless to say it didn’t work. However, my list gradually grew with very little effort from my side.
A few months ago, one of my sales guys complained, rightly so, that I did not tell him about the tool.
Why? because, indirectly, I had all the names of the people he was trying to reach (IT Manager here, Vendor Manager there…).

I then started using it again, in combination with Plaxo, and suddenly I am able to start partnerships I wouldn’t have dreamt.

Regards

Steve