Linkedin

[tim123]

I know that this has ben done before, but I'll start another thread.

What is this for?

One of my recent colleagues asked me to join so that she could include me as a connection. Since then I have found another 6 peple to connect with, but then what?

But none of these people have used it to keep in touch.

ISTM that it's just an exercise in "counting friends".

Is it any good for anythng else?

tim

[Gonzo]

I know that this has ben done before, but I'll start another thread.

What is this for?

One of my recent colleagues asked me to join so that she could include me as a connection. Since then I have found another 6 peple to connect with, but then what?

But none of these people have used it to keep in touch.

ISTM that it's just an exercise in "counting friends".

Is it any good for anythng else?

tim

I have been phoned twice by Pimps that found me on there. One job was no good, but the other one was right up my street.

So, it is free advertising if nothing else.

[FarmerPalmer]

I use it for advertising and letting old clients know my availability.
Its been useful so far

[Moscow Mule]

Good for recommendations too.

[lilelvis2000]

Easier to maintain my CV on there I find with recommendations for everyone to read. I ask and answer questions and that has got me a few useful connections. I got a phone-call from a startup in London from the site. its bee quite useful for me so far.

[KathyWoolfe]

So what is it then?

[tim123]

So what is it then?

'you new to this internet lark then?

tim

[Churchill]

I use it for advertising and letting old clients know my availability.
Its been useful so far

WHS.

[noob]

It's a networking site. Think about it as being a little like Myspace and Facebook but without all the stupid tunes, photos and privacy issues. There are no applications to run, and you only invite or accept invitations from other business colleagues that you want to connect to.

It maintains an online CV for you (and you can decide how much of it is publicly visible), and to each job you can connect the relevant colleagues that you want to network with. For those jobs you can then ask your colleagues for recommendations, and you can recommend them.

A lot of companies are using it for recruitment as it fits in well with letting them hire a 'known' person that they might not have reached otherwise.

The power of connections is remarkable. The way it works is that there are four levels or degrees of separation (A friend, A friend of a friend, a friend of a friend of a friend, and a F of an F of an F of an F). If you have only 5 connections, and they each have a further 5 at each level, then you are already indirectly connected to hundreds of people. I've connected to at least one or two people from each of my previous roles (and lots from some roles) and am already indirectly connected to thousands of people, all in the same industry etc.

There are tools in place for you to request that a friend introduce you to one of their friends if that person hasn't allowed direct contact.

I quite often put the names of agents or people I'm talking to at potential employers and find that I'm connected to them by no more than one or two 'hops'. I'm not nearly organised enough (or inclined) to follow up through that route but it would be easy to do.

I've been asked for linkedin connections by agents and employers in the last month or so, so it's definately worth a look if anyone is tempted. I was invited into it a couple of years ago and ignored it, and had a few more of those invitation mails from various people and dismissed it as some kind of spam info gathering site or similar, but I was wrong, it IS kosher and it IS useful.

You can join it for a look-see without giving it much info, and can then do searches on some of your mates to get an idea of what can be done.

Noob.

[KathyWoolfe]

'you new to this internet lark then?

tim

Not as new as I'd like to be.

Seriously though, I've not been able to find anything called "Linkedin" so I'm beginning to think it might be a figment. When I do a search on CUK, all I get is a list of articles on "social networks"