by UPDATE:
January 26, 2009. I no longer like LinkedIn. I now Loathe LinkedIn. However, I am keeping the remainder the review below intact to preserve the breadcrumb record of experience and recognition as it happened.
I believe in the power of circles. I believe in mending broken circles. I believe in creating new arcs that lead to closing circles. When I was invited this week to become a member of LinkedIn, I was wary at first, because I do not like social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace because showboating and friends-gathering is more valued than finding information and tending intimate circles.
LinkedIn is unique. LinkedIn is clean and cogent. LinkedIn is about creating business contacts — and the whole idea behind the service is you only add people to your network that you already know. You can check out my LinkedIn profile — and add me to your network if you know me — by touching the button below.
LinkedIn is magical because you control the information you share with others.
You can search the LinkedIn network to rediscover lost friends and
connect with new contacts.
Some people hide their names on their LinkedIn profile pages — but if you
know their name you can find them in a search — I don’t understand why
you’d be on LinkedIn if you didn’t want to be found.
Once you start filling your Connections queue, you can then get updates on what they’re doing; you can also join groups that interest you to create even deeper connections.
When there’s activity in the network you create, you can read updates via RSS — or you can view the information online.
You can also send a nifty PDF version of your LinkedIn profile to anyone you wish; recommendations you write for others also appear in your profile window.
If you add Six Apart’s new “BlogLink” application for LinkedIn, the network of blogs written by your contacts is presented:
You also view your own blog feeds in the same BlogLink application.
LinkedIn also provides an eerie — and slightly creepy — way to find out who is looking for you by revealing breadcrumb information about the searcher:
LinkedIn is the first “social networking” site that I understand and want to use. It is a great thrill to reconnect the fading dots of your life and re-drawing people back into your circles of belonging.
If you have an iPhone, you can download a free App that will give you LinkedIn access:
If you are not yet on LinkedIn — JOIN NOW! — and then you’ll know where to find me. So find me.
What a comprehensive overview – I am pretty impressed with the whole set up. It is so clean and uncluttered after the whole myspace/facebook mania.
I also like keeping my work and my “play” separate.
Great review, David!
Linkedin is indeed different from all the other networking sites. it’s more work-oriented and is geared towards a more professional userbase.
I too was quite impressed with LinkedIn. No need to fear being superpoked or having a zombie thrown at you here. It’s all serious and I love that.
Thanks for the great feedback, Nicola! There’s always something new to find on LinkedIn — I found the iPhone App moments before I published the review. I do find LinkedIn pleasingly calm, and the profiles are much more detailed and interesting than anything else I’ve found online and there is no doubt the people on LinkedIn know how to write and communicate. It’s refreshing.
Right, Dananjay! Now go add me to your LinkedIn network!
I, too, enjoy the serious tone of LinkedIn, Gordon. Even the groups seem to be relatively calm and spam-free.
A very neat and serious community, I am on my way…
Thank you, Katha, and don’t forget to link me in your network!
Heh! I think i disabled my account last year. let me see if it works now.
I sent you an invite, but it sort of disappeared. Maybe that was because you were inactive?
That must be it. I was wondering where that went because i thought you’d mailed it.
Yes, I mailed it Dananjay, but maybe if your profile is not active, the email doesn’t get delivered?
Dananjay —
Let’s have you invite me this time when you’re ready. We’ll see if that works.
Oh, and Katha, will you please send me an invite, too? We’ll try the process in reverse to see if that makes a difference.
Will sure do David!
Thank you, my Katha!