Don’t Be An Online Loner

It's to your advantage to be a part of an online network. Sure, face-to-face networking is better, but why not add an online dimension to your networking?

LinkedIn is the leading professional network on the web. I recommend it because . . .

• No SPAM. I have been a part of it for about a year and have yet to get any SPAM.
• Incredible reach. Although I have less than 40 contacts directly connected to me, I have over one million in my network.
• Great tools. Some very talented folks are behind this service. The tools are great and include add-ins for Outlook, Firefox, and Internet Explorer.
• Power of questions. I once asked a question of my network about where to find inexpensive royalty-free music. I got a great answer back from a person I had never met that was a producer in the Hollywood area. Oh . . . you want to know her answer: Productiontrax.com.
• Easy search. Considering responding to an ad for a job? You can use your network to find someone who works in the company you are thinking about. Great stuff.

I am pretty cautious about networking sites. I am not a part of MySpace or Facebook. However, LinkedIn is working very well for me.

What are your thoughts on LinkedIn? Do you know of something better?

P.S. Since I drafted this post I've heard so much about Facebook that . . . you guessed it, I signed up.

Comments

[Andrew]

I just finished signing up on LinkedIn (I was a bit behind the curve on that) when I read your post, and I've seen the stories and blogposts that say LinkedIn is already passe and Facebook is the thing now. But I'm having a hard time getting used to the idea of Facebook as something for grown-ups, let alone a tool for professionals.

I'd be interested to read your thoughts on Facebook once you've used it for a while.

[Craig Huggart]

Andrew:

Thanks for the feedback.

I've found that many of my friends are already on LinkedIn. When I signed up for Facebook, only 4 people in my address book were there. For me, LinkedIn is much more useful right now. However, I believe Facebook is the wave of the future.

As I get more experience, I will post about it again.

Craig

[Melissa]

I opened a Linkedin account over two years ago and have been generally impressed with the service. It has been helpful to keep in touch with former colleagues after changing job. I also have a Facebook account, but I keep my involvement to a minimum, i.e. I avoid the many gadget apps you can install. I used to think that Linkedin would be the focus of my professional contacts, but I have colleagues (former and current) as Facebook friends and a group of us recently started a private group in Facebook for a small project we just started.

[Craig Huggart]

Melissa:

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

It will be interesting to see how Facebook evolves.

Craig