Comments on: A Second Life for LinkedIn

By: Windenberger

Windenberger — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:59:23 +0000

I am still getting ready for my first life on LinkedIn. First it took me over a year before I finally signed up in May 2006. Then I just used LinkedIn every few months. Now that I see linkedIn profiles coming up in search engines in front of me for my target keywords such as my last name Windenberger, I am finally spending more time on the site and participating. And it looks like I am about to get my first piece of business as a result; someone wants to get my assistance with the Unconditional Freedom Process.

By: Jessica Johns Pool

Jessica Johns Pool — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:17:19 +0000

I too had slowed my participation on LinkedIn until I got busy on Facebook. Now, I use LinkedIn and Twitter for my professional contacts/conversations and Facebook for friends, and spend about the same amount of time on all three. It’s an easy way to keep information that’s too personal out of my work world. There’s a bit of overlap in my contacts, of course, but no one ever seems to want to cross those lines.

By: Mike O'Toole

Mike O'Toole — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:28:42 +0000

Susan, I agree on the value of groups. In fact, it was taking the leap to join a few groups (and the subsequent new and Q&A that I monitored) that really began to crystallize LinkedIn’s new value.

By: Susan Brown

Susan Brown — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:09:05 +0000

Another useful area of LinkedIn is the Groups–I joined several groups, including my Northwestern University alumni group, and have found Groups a source of good information as well as a great way to connect and communicate through this vehicle.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Sun, 17 May 2009 02:39:24 +0000

A “normal” adoption pattern with new communication technologies.
Thanks for the anecdotes.

By: Chris Perry

Chris Perry — Sat, 16 May 2009 00:18:13 +0000

LinkedIn is one of the most powerful personal branding, career search and career development tools on the web today, not to mention one of the better business launch and development tools.
I have launched two web organizations on LinkedIn, found my job, established principal business partnerships, established my own personal brand, you name it, I have done it using LinkedIn.
I would recommend it to any professional, and the beauty of it is, LinkedIn keeps growing and getting better.

By: Mike O'Toole

Mike O'Toole — Thu, 14 May 2009 13:57:29 +0000

THanks for the great comments. Mario, I’ll definitely follow you. I’m @motoole1, for anyone who wants to follow me.
Chris, I’ve left a comment on your great question about tracking ethics (a topic woefully unrepresented on the twitter stream).

By: Mario Sundar

Mario Sundar — Wed, 13 May 2009 23:35:25 +0000

Hi Mike,
I’m a fellow blogger at Mprofs and also happen to be the community evangelist at LinkedIn. Loved your post, which interestingly mimics my adoption of Twitter – in “small, accretive moments”!
LinkedIn was an easier sell for me, though.
Just started following you on Twitter. Feel free to follow me @mariosundar.

By: Kim Kochaver

Kim Kochaver — Wed, 13 May 2009 22:34:00 +0000

I work in the Marketing department at LinkedIn, and I can confirm that our integration on NYTimes.com is live (you’ll find it in the top right corner on the Business and Technology article pages). We also have a broad-based partnership with CNBC (including joint polls, content and API integration, and more) that we announced last fall . For more information on all our partnerships, please visit http://press.linkedin.com/partners. Glad to hear that you all are such active users of LinkedIn!

By: Jason Alba

Jason Alba — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:56:34 +0000

I love this analysis… I think #7 helps account for the people who don’t ever login (I’d guess the dip is deeper), and I don’t necessarily agree that LI is hitting a plateau, but the logic behind the analysis is very cool.
Also, in response to some comments about the value of LI being tied to what you put into it, and your authenticity, I agree up to a certain point. There are recruiters and sales professionals who don’t interact much with Answers or Groups but do a lot of searches and communicate with people one-on-one… interesting how different people can get different value out of the same tool.
Jason Alba
Author – I’m on LinkedIn — Now What???
Create of LinkedIn for Job Seekers, the DVD

By: Chris Butler

Chris Butler — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:38:39 +0000

Mike,
I also followed a similar trajectory with my use of LinkedIn; now I am a daily user. Several of the above comments mention the noise factor, which I agree is definitely there. But, I also think that if your use of LinkedIn is for more than just keeping up with the Joneses and pushing your services, the noise will fall away. I wrote a blog post (http://www.newfangled.com/using_linkedin_for_professional_development) back in January about how we have used LinkedIn for information gathering, building groups, and even advertising and how those things have truly benefited our company and us as individuals. Also, I can’t say enough about the Q&A features. I ask questions all the time and am amazed at the frequency of thoughtful, helpful responses. I have an open question right now about the ethics of website user tracking- would love your feedback: http://www.linkedin.com/answers/marketing-sales/advertising-promotion/internet-marketing/MAR_ADP_INM/475285-9505648.
By the way, we’ve worked with PJA on several projects and they do a great job of integrating social media in to their day to day operation in a smart and authentic way. Phil Johnson’s blog at AdAge is also worth checking out. Thanks for a great post.
Chris

By: Pam Pugmire

Pam Pugmire — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:22:54 +0000

I agree with Hilton. Any community is only as good as what you put into it. I was much like you with Linkedin. I have become more active with it as I found the groups, and have found a place to interact with other users. It’s been a great forum to learn about new technology that I can possibly use in business.

By: Mike O'Toole

Mike O'Toole — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:04:51 +0000

Edw3rd, I agree, the signal-to-noise ratio can be high on LinkedIn. Lots of job seekers and lots of people hawking services. Still interesting that the ticket into those conversations is content and expertise (to Sonny’s point).

By: Sonny Gill

Sonny Gill — Tue, 12 May 2009 19:37:10 +0000

I was also in a similar boat and have found the community side of LinkedIn as a big draw to the platform.
I’ve found a lot of value in the Answers section, providing ideas for other users, while being able to expand on my own thoughts and knowledge w/numerous topics ofinterest. The Groups have also been helpful (when done right), as I’ve communicated with like-minded folks under the same marketing ‘umbrella’, but from a slew of different industries and experiences; connecting me with a bunch of folks I otherwise wouldn’t have.

By: Edw3rd

Edw3rd — Tue, 12 May 2009 19:29:46 +0000

I noticed that people generating bunches of recommendations or chasing many contacts all of a sudden are often looking for a new job.

By: Catherine Novak

Catherine Novak — Tue, 12 May 2009 19:25:14 +0000

Interesting comment, Lisa.
I’ve found that being active on LinkedIn has strengthened my position within my chosen profession because I have contributed to group discussions, and have made connections with industry leaders in my local area. It’s a nutritional supplement for your professional presence online.

By: Lisa Stephens

Lisa Stephens — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:32:40 +0000

Wow… great information. I have high hopes for LinkedIn, although I’m not in a strong enough position within my chosen profession or, more importantly, within my marketing strategy, for it to be of perfect use.

By: Mike O'Toole

Mike O'Toole — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:15:15 +0000

Hilton,
Great point. I think LinkedIn tipped for me when it added conversation and content. And thanks for adding the point about the global utilitiy.

By: KJ Rodgers

KJ Rodgers — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:51:17 +0000

Linkedin is great, but too many people do not see the full power it can have. From positioning yourself as an expert or asking questions, it has the ability to professionally enhance any business.

By: Hilton Barbour

Hilton Barbour — Tue, 12 May 2009 15:58:52 +0000

Mike,
At the risk of being trite, the power of LinkedIn (or any other community) is the authenticity with which you contribute. Answering questions is both rewarding and illuminating as you quickly get a feel for like-minded individuals that can expand your network and braintrust. In this “Flat World” connecting and helping can be rewarding professionally and personally. LinkedIn has literally opened doors in LatAm and Asia that were never possible previously. See you in the discussion groups mate.

By: Stuart Foster

Stuart Foster — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:51:11 +0000

Hrrmm, I’ve only utilized LinkedIn thus far for clients and never actually invested in any sort of program for myself. Looks like I am going to have to go back and change that. Thanks, Mike!

By: courtney benson

courtney benson — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:50:35 +0000

Mike -
Wonderful tool for getting answers to business questions, locating experts in any field, making new business contacts, connecting with former colleagues, and as you already stated searching for and selecting candidates to hire.
Happy to hear that you are using LinkedIn daily. I have found it to be very useful over the years and I see more and more business associates signing up all the time. I think it’s one of the best social networking tools around. I tend to use it and Twitter daily.

By: Gareth Edwards

Gareth Edwards — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:36:09 +0000

Our “Not for profit” business support organisation is using LinkedIn to introduce SMEs to the world of social networking…and each other.
Our UK experience is that small businesses like the more conservative style of LinkedIn to begin with. They seem to migrate onto the more youthful, “funkier” platforms when they realise the possibilities that social networking and social media can bring.
Gareth