LinkedIn News: Status Updates for Companies
October 14th, 2011Seems like a logical progression on the path they’ve been on for the last year+.
What do you think about it?
Reference Link: LinkedIn Launches Company Status Updates [How to Get Started]
First LinkedIn book updated
October 12th, 2011Steve Tylock wrote the very first book on LinkedIn. It’s called the LinkedIn Personal Trainer.
He finally updated it… you can learn more about it here.
Steve’s day job is not training on LinkedIn, or writing… I think it’s pretty cool he got his book out.
For the record, mine was the second LinkedIn book, which is now in the third edition.
I’m not sure what the order is of the other books on LinkedIn…
LinkedIn’s Job Search Package: “should I upgrade?”
October 10th, 2011Here’s an important post to read about LinkedIn’s job seeker upgrade option (I get asked about this pretty much every time I present): How LinkedIn’s Job Seeker Package May Actually HURT Your Chances of Getting a Job
What do you think about it?
What social networks will be around in 10 years?
October 3rd, 2011Check out this quote, from a TechCrunch article:
“I don’t think you can take for granted that any social network is going to be here 10 years from now.”
Who said that? Read the short TechCrunch article here.
A guy who had a very successful site in 2002, that was made irrelevent by another site (not myspace):
Heiferman started the photo sharing site in 2002 and says “it (Fotolog) became the number one social network” in several countries. It eventually sold for millions of dollars. However, Heiferman notes Fotolog’s top status eroded when Flickr hit the web and it made Heiferman realize that no company is totally secure against competition.
Will “the big three” be around in 10 years? 5 years?
Tools are tools.
How to email your LinkedIn Connections
August 23rd, 2011I’ve received emails from my first degree connections for a while. I am always curious to know how people do this. In the early days I had a note in my Summary that said something like “If you connect with me, I’m going to put you on my newsletter.” I’d then export my contacts and import to iContact or ConstantContact.
Then, I got smart and changed it to say “click here to sign up for my newsletter,” which made it “opt-in.”
Then, I got tired of paying for the newsletter services, and changed it again to say “join my LinkedIn Group, and I’ll send you periodic newsletter-like emails.” This is where I’m at now.
But you can do something more direct to your first degree Contacts. Check out this post: How to Use LinkedIn Mail to Connect With Your Contacts. Linda Coles breaks down the process, and some pros/cons, of using this tool. The biggest con is that you can only do 50 at a time. If you have 1,000 contacts, you will have to do this 20 times to reach all of them. Yuck.
At the same time, if that limit wasn’t in place, your contacts might be overly eager to spam you all the time.
The easier it is, the more it might be abused.
So it’s not easy, but it works.
Have you ever tried it?
Are LinkedIn’s Free Features Going Away?
August 22nd, 2011Many say they are 
Check out this question on LinkedIn Answers: Has anyone else noticed that endorser names on LinkedIn recommendations have disappeared?
This could have been about a dozen different features that have disappeared.
I wonder where LinkedIn is headed – if they keep taking away functionality from free users they will either drive their users to other networks (Facebook and Google+), or they will increase their upgrades and make more money.
Perhaps they’ll accomplish both: make more money from people who use the tool while getting rid of (dare I say?) freeloaders who just use the resources.
It’s an interesting crossroads to be at…!
LinkedIn Profile Update: Summary + Newsletter
August 19th, 2011Here’s a quick change I just made on my Profile.
I switched from Constant Contact to iContact (because a friend worked there – he doesn’t anymore), and finally just moved my “newsletter” to my LinkedIn Group (where I can send an “announcement” every 8 days).
So, I had to update the link that I had let sit there for TOO LONG to the new Group URL:
Why am I sharing this? Because every little tiny thing that we neglect, like changing the URL in my Summary, affects our communication and brand and effectiveness.
What are you neglecting?
This took me all of 50 seconds to fix.
Another LinkedIn Privacy Issue: Manage Social Advertising
August 18th, 2011I saw an interesting title on my LinkedIn Group and clicked over to learn more. Check out this biting title:
LinkedIn Pulled A Facebook And Messed With Your Info — Here’s How To Fix It
Wow. That is a strong accusation. Facebook has become notorious for screwing (there’s not really a nice way to say what FB does, with regard to our privacy!) users by making all kinds of weird changes to privacy.
So what did they do? Read the article to see how to OPT OUT… here’s what it is in a nutshell:
LinkedIn has volunteered your name and photograph to be used for advertising if it feels like it wants to use them.
I hadn’t heard of this before, so I followed the simple steps to opt out and found that yes, I indeed am in their list of people who can be used for LinkedIn’s advertising. In a nutshell, you opt out by going into the Settings page, then in this order:
I haven’t seen or heard this anywhere else… maybe all the hype over Google+ is keeping the LinkedIn bloggers busy?
LinkedIn “Apply with LinkedIn Button” feedback
August 1st, 2011Nick Corcodilos, Mr. Ask the Headhunter, wrote a long post about this button. He starts with:
I don’t know who I feel more sorry for: Job hunters or employers. LinkedIn has introduced a new button that lets you instantly apply for a job — no resume, no cover letter, no effort. It’s instantly dumber for everyone concerned.
What’s the problem with this idea?
We can now sit in our skivvies and thoughtlessly, tirelessly, effortlessly throw our hat in the ring.
Why not?
That’s the problem.
Candidates will get lazy (hey, I applied to 1,000 jobs today. I don’t have time to network, or pick up the phone for anyone!).
Employers will get even more overwhelmed with unqualified mismatches for a posting.
Nick’s post is long, so I’ll make mine short. Read his. Then, read the comments. Especially from Sherry Lynn, who disagrees, and then read the comments after hers. Great stuff!
Turbocharge Your LinkedIn Profile
July 29th, 2011My friend Chip Hartman sent me a 20 page slidedeck titled Turbocharge your LinkedIn Profile. You can access it here.
It’s a solid read… you can flip through each slide and go back to your own LinkedIn Profile to beef it up.
This is an intentionally SHORT post because I want you to spend time reading Chip’s pdf… get it here – no cost.
