I have a beef with one of the perceived policies with LinkedIn.

Supposedly I’m only supposed to connect with people I “know and trust.”

Both of these words can mean different things to different people – not even going to go there.  Maybe Bill Clinton can weigh in on what “know” and “trust” mean.

Let’s just assume it means that I shouldn’t connect unless I have some kind of relationship, and the relationship has some mutual element to it (they “know and trust” me).

So here’s my beef: if I go to a networking event and meet someone for the very first time, I don’t quite know them yet, and I certainly don’t have any reason to trust (or not trust) them.

I’m not allowed to connect with them on LinkedIn?  WHY NOT?

How do we get to a point where we can say we know and trust them?

The relationship has to start somewhere (that initial meeting, usually).  The relationship nurturing continues with further ocmmunication…. lunch, phone calls, email, sending one another news clippings, etc.

At what point can I invite this person to connect in LinkedIn?

MY ANSWER IS: whenever I want.  Because I use LinkedIn to HELP me with the relationship nurturing.

I use it as a communication tool.

I think it’s naive to think that we wouldn’t use LinkedIn as…. this seems silly to even write…. as a NETWORKING TOOL.

Of course, this is just my opinion… what do you think?  Is it okay to use LinkedIn at an early stage in a relationship, or is it something that should be saved until later?

LinkedIn has a great opportunity to clean up spam on its network… it would be a very simple enhancement that would help the community self-police.

On a LinkedIn Profile page, on the right, there are a bunch of links:

The closest they get to deleting a contact is to “report profile photo as…” but that is not exactly what I want to do… I just want to delete a contact.

My suggestion, obviously, is to put a link right there to delete the contact.  Even Facebook allows you to “remove” a “friend” from the friend profile page… but on LinkedIn I have to:

1. Click on Contacts,
2. Click on Remove Connections (from the top right of that page),
3. search for the name (and hope I don’t choose the wrong person, if the name is a common name (in this case, this morning, it IS),
4. …. OH WAIT!!

No, it’s not a connection I’m dealing with!  It’s someone who’s in the same LinkedIn Group!

Now I’m really hosed.

Okay, two issues here… first, make it easier to remove the connection from the profile page.

Second, if someone from a Group spams me (blatant, obvious spam), allow me to somehow report it, block messages from that person, etc.  I’m not talking about a Group Discussion, I’m talking about blocking the person (like Twitter has: block and report for spam).

I’m not an advocate of becoming more like Facebook or Twitter, but these are two options that I really think need to be implemented, to protect the integrity of LinkedIn as a system.

That is Peter Newfield’s question on LinkedIn… there are 22 answers and it’s really interesting.

Some say the early adopters are out because they just go look for shiny stuff, but the value is still definitely there.

Others say that LinkedIn moved Answers off the main menu and that has decreased the value.

Some say it’s too much work, others say it’s awesome.

There’s some great discussion on that LinkedIn Answers thread… what do YOU think?  Has LinkedIn lost some of its appeal?

I’m working on my third book, titled Eight Lunches.  It’s a cool idea and I’m actually looking at people to review the latest draft (more info and an excerpt here).

While I’m asking for people to review the draft and provide feedback that can help the book be more solid, I’m using LinkedIn for business development.  I mean, er, marketing.  I mean, perhaps PR.

What I really mean is I’m using LinkedIn as a tool to help me network into certain places to help me market my book.

I’ve identified a number of media outlets I want to approach with information about my book.  Last week I did a few simple searches on LinkedIn to find editors and writers of one magazine and came up with about a dozen contacts I’ll reach out to.  Here’s what I did:

• I searched on “editor [magazine name]” and came up with a bunch of names.  Most of the names are interesting to me.
• I went to each LinkedIn Profile to learn more and see if they really were a contact who I want to network with.
• On the right of each Profile I looked in the “Viewers of this profile also viewed…” box to see who I was missing, or who didn’t come up in the search, or who key people were at other magazines.  This is a KEY area when you are searching for contacts you might want to reach out to.
• I recorded the name, location (so I know what time zone they are in – not all are in the same time zone), title, URLs (always the LinkedIn URL, sometimes the Twitter URL (if they are on Twitter), and the name of the magazine (because I’ll put these contacts into a spreadsheet and then import them into JibberJobber – I figured it’s best to put the “company” name in before the import, rather than one at a time).

This week I’ll work on my message (aka, pitch) and then send them messages.  But I won’t send them messages through LinkedIn… I don’t have any introductions left (I can’t find the outstanding 5 that should be recalled – it’s a horrible weakness in LinkedIn to not be able to find those), and I can’t InMail them because I’m on the free level now.

That’s okay, a simple google search shows me that the company email structure is simply the first initial of the first name plus the last name @magazinename.com…. I’ll check out the magazine to make sure that’s what they say in there, but emailing each of them individually should be easy.

As a side note, I noticed that ALL of them have weak/skeleton LinkedIn Profiles.

Here’s a question I got from someone asking about the value of Monster in a job search:

(1) With LinkedIn’s new Company Follow feature, LI Recruiter/Premium Membership, LI Corporate Accounts and (2) of course the fact that most of its revenue comes from ads and job postings, (3) how is LinkedIn not a job board, beyond market positioning and product differentiation?

Wow, what a simple question that makes me think of complex responses!

FIRST POINT

LinkedIn’s features (and the new features that you mention, as well as the new job seeker upgrade level) are all great features for job seekers and those who are looking for job seekers.  However, if you aren’t a job seeker, or don’t want to find job seekers, LI can still provide immense value to you (as an entrepreneur, manager, etc.).  You can find people who can provide value as new customers, partners, investors, mentors, advisors, etc.  You can learn about your competition and your prospects… you can get market, company and industry intelligence (think: competitive intelligence).  You can connect with peers, strengthen individual relationships and strengthen your brand.

The magic of LinkedIn is that it can provide immense value to a professional whether you are in a job search or not.

It’s similar to the magic of a pixar movie, which is loved by children and adults alike (for different reasons – it’s simple and fun for kids but the messaging and communication and cleverness appeals to adults).

LinkedIn appeals to job seekers (and those in the job search space) as well as to those who are not in the job search.

SECOND POINT

You say that (of course) most of LinkedIn’s revenue comes from ads and job postings… I’m not sure if that is true… there are really very few job postings compared to a traditional job board, and I hope that those very few postings do not make up a significant portion of their revenues… if that is the case then LinkedIn doesn’t produce much revenues.  Perhaps that will grow, which is great, but I would guess that job postings represent a very small percentage of revenues.

I’ve always guessed that company and recruiter memberships make up the bulk of the revenue, or at least is one of the larger revenue streams for LI.  However, I’m sure the ads are good, considering the placement they get (horrible placement for the users, imho… it’s too busy).

So, I can’t really say with any authority if this is right, but my gut says this is a wrong assumption.

THIRD POINT

How is LinkedIn not a job board?  Most of my response is in the FIRST POINT, above.  I know lots of people think of LI as a place that unemployed people go but there are plenty of employed professionals on the site, actively using some of the features.

This goes back to the Pixar analogy, though… it’s really beautiful.  Since it is not designed to be a job board, or a tool solely for job seekers, but it attracts those in hiring capacities, it naturally attracts job seekers (who are told to network into their next opportunity).

So, I’d say it’s not a job board but it is a terrific tool for job seekers, because of the simple reason that it was not designed to be a tool for job seekers, but for professionals to network.

Thoughts?

This seems like a no-brainer but I’ve done a soft 180 on it since I read the email.

The question comes from Jennifer Armitstead, who just started a Utah County (think: 40 miles south of Salt Lake City) job club.  This is one of two independent job clubs that I know of here and I’m really excited to see how it rolls out.

I asked her what the URL was for the job club so I could promote it and she responded with this:

I don’t have a website set up for this. I figured that I could just use a LinkedIn Group. I hadn’t even thought of doing a website. Do you think I need one?

Utah County Job Club LinkedIn group: http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=2086511

Understand I’m grossly biased because my professional background runs deep in website development, intranet, marketing sites, eCommerce sites, etc.  I could not imagine a LinkedIn Group replacing a website for an organization.  In general, I think a volunteer job club needs a website – it’s free (or cheap) and is googleable.

Having said that, here are my counterpoints.  I went to the LinkedIn Group to become a member.  There are already 140 members.  That isn’t a ton, but consider this is quite niche and new.  I was impressed (I guess I expected about 50).

• This Group allows others to network with one another online …. if you meet at the club and join the Group, you can message one another, regardless of your connection.  You don’t get that from just a website.
• Also, Jen can message all Group members, so she essentially has a free email distribution system (like Constant Contact or iContact – but at no charge).  This is really powerful.  You don’t get that from just a website.
• She also gets a bit of viral marketing when people join the Group, or contribute to Group Discussions, etc.  You don’t get that from just a website.

It probably took all of three minutes to set up.  Of course you can do some of this with a Ning site, but you know LinkedIn is going to be promoted quite a bit to this audience, and people will get accounts (if they don’t have them already).  Trying to get someone to sign up for, or USE, a site like Ning is a stretch (I think).

So, back to Jen’s question… do you need a website?

Need: no.

I still recommend one – have one of the job club people volunteer to set up a kewl design and put it on your server… have things like time of meetings, locations, etc. but definitely, definitely point people to the LinkedIn Group, because of the functionality you get there.

Note: many job clubs complement their on-site meetings with a Yahoo Group… something to think about (but realize it brings the task of administration with it).

In my LinkedIn DVD I talk about the value of Groups, how to optimize your time in Groups, Group Discussions, communicating with Group members, etc. Order the DVD here.

Preorder the LinkedIn for Job Seekers DVD here.

If you own a LinkedIn Group you have a quasi-opt-in newsletter available to you at no cost.

A LinkedIn Group own can go to the manage page and “send an announcement.”  This goes to all of the Group members except the ones who have opted out… I think most people don’t opt out.

Similar functionality from icontant or Constant Contact costs money each month…. there are differences, of course, between the two solutions, and one isn’t a replacement for the other, but LinkedIn Announcements is pretty powerful as a communication tool.

You can only send one message every 7 days (I think that’s the limit), but that’s enough… your Group members don’t want to hear from you every day, anyway.  If they do, start a blog.

Aside from sending out the Announcement via email, it can get posted as a Discussion, even a “featured discussion,” where Group members can leave comments.

Have you done this yet?  If you are behind a company, group or movement, I encourage you to start a LinkedIn Group and use this as a communication tool.

Preorder the LinkedIn for Job Seekers DVD here.

I read a great post by Laurie Berenson that talks about how sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that just because we are on LinkedIn (and Facebook and Twitter) we think we are doing a lot of networking.

The post is titled Don’t get tricked by these 3 job search blunders, written especially for April Fools Day.  I’m talking about her 3rd point.

From a job search perspective, it’s easy to HIDE in your job search by applying to jobs on job boards.  It’s also easy to HIDE in your networking by staying online.  But there comes a time when you should take it to the next level and do something more, like a phone call or a face-to-face meeting.

Use LinkedIn as a networking tool, not your total networking strategy.

I read a great post with insightful comments about recruiters using LinkedIn. It is titled LinkedIn – Just How Good is it?, written by Keith Robinson. Some of the interest lines:

“when we use LinkedIn we find that at least 20% of LinkedIn profiles are essentially defunct…”

“at least 40% of their premium ‘inmail’ messages are not read by the intended recipients within a week of being sent.”

“[people] build their profile and wait to be found rather than use it as a networking tool.”

“whilst 45% of candidates say they regularly use LinkedIn, only 5% have actively responded to a job advert placed on social media sites like LinkedIn.”

“when we asked candidates to indicate how they would go about searching for their next jobs, hardly any said they would apply for jobs via social media sites.” I agree, since that is not the purpose or design of a social tool…

“so the lines seem to be clearly drawn, with social media being a means of researching firms and allowing oneself to be seen by headhunters… whilst job boards remain the places where candidates will actively head to seek out a new job.”  I DISAGREE.

Read the comments for insights from recruiters.

In the other corner we have an article by Jessi Hempel on CNN Money/Fortune titled How LinkedIn will fire up your career.  That is a long but insightful article about LinkedIn and using it as a career development tool.  It is interesting to read that Accenture plans to hire 50k jobs, apparently 40% of them coming from social media.  That is 20,000 people hired from social media… that’s amazing.  The head of global recruiting, John Campagnino, says “This is the future of recruiting for our company.”

I disagree how the article says “Facebook is for fun. Tweets have a short shelf life. If you’re serious about managing your career, the only social site that really matters is LinkedIn.”  Using just one site is a mistake, I think…. don’t discount other sites where you might encounter hiring managers, HR, recruiters, etc.

Go read the Fortune article… it provides a seemingly biased but optimistic picture of why and how LinkedIn SHOULD be a part of your career management strategy.  It’s interesting to contrast the two perspectives – what camp do you fall in?

Update: 4/9 – just came across this list from a Scott Allen post: lots of LinkedIn people on Twitter.

Out of curiousity, and to wind down from finishing the recordings for the second edition of LinkedIn for Job Seekers (DVD), I thought I’d see who at LinkedIn is on Twitter, how active they are, and what they are doing.  Here is a brief summary…. who’d I miss?  (they have lots of employees, this is just a small percentage)

Reid Hoffman (@quixotic) – founder. Silicon Valley.  10,039 followers, 71 tweets (usually where he is located). He links back to his LI  Profile.

Adam Nash (@adamnash) – VP of Search and Platform Products.  Silicon Valley. 1,290 followers, 2,460 tweets. He links back to his personal blog.

Kay Luo (@kluo) – Sr. Director of Corporate Communications. Silicon Valley. 1,000 followers, 859 tweets. Links back to her LI Profile.

DJ Patil (@dpatil) – Chief Scientist & Sr. Director of Product Analytics.  Silicon Valley. 708 followers, 1080 tweets.  Links back to his LI Profile.

Krista Canfield (@kristacanfield) – Senior PR Manager. Silicon Valley.  686 followers, 1079 tweets. Links back to her LI Profile.

Sam Mandolfo (@mandolfo) – Enterprise Account Executive, Omaha. 293 followers, 201 tweets. Links back to his LI Profile.

Mario Sundar (@mariosundar) – Community Evangelist (I think he’s in charge of the Official LinkedIn Blog), San Fransisco. 3,719 followers, 7,134 tweets. He links back to his personal blog.

Brandon Salom (@bsalom) – Technology Sales & Business Development Associate. San Fransisco. 167 followers, 546 tweets. He links back to his LI Profile.

WHO KNOWS (@LinkedIn) – not sure who is behind this account… I’m guessing Mario and/or Kay. 30,267 followers, 1,647 tweets.  Links back to the LinkedIn blog.

Steve Patrizi (@spatrizi) – VP, Marketing Solutons. San Fransisco. 507 followers, 559 tweets. He links back to his LI Profile.

Does this tell you anything interesting?

One other thing I found was most of those people had over 500 LI connections but very few recommendations.