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I just joined Linkedin.
I know! It’s like 2007!
I joined because a colleague kept telling me that he was trying to reach 500 connections, at which point your profile just says ‘500+ connections’. That could mean a million, but more likely means 501.
So I thought I’d see how easy/difficult that is.
Before then I’d always pooh-poohed LI because if I thought of it at all, I thought it was the businessman’s networking site.
It could still be that, but I seem to have found a lot of non-businessman friends on it.
So what now?
Do you use it a lot? How do you do so? Is it helpful to you? Or is it just a load of old crap?
Please let me know…
Load of crap.
Here’s why.
What’s the purpose of LI? To help business (people) get more business by making connections.
A couple of years ago I was freelancing. My income came from agencies.
I thought if I went on Linked In and started talking to SMEs I would pick up a few jobs from them.
So I joined about 10 relevant groups and started blogging about advertising/marketing/etc and how it could help SMEs.
It was fantastic.
I got loads of new connections, heaps of comments on my posts (the best was about 180), loads of ‘thanks, that’s valuable information’.
However, the one thing I didn’t get was a job.
After about 10 months of more or less posting once a week I gave up, it clearly wasn’t worth my time.
I now check it my LI profile once a week just to see what’s going on, but that’s about it.
I’m on it but I’m not with it.
it’s useful if you want to receive 10000 mails every day
“jimmy thumbknee has a new spoon.”
“mary kidneyinfection has updated her details.”
I use it mostly as a business address book – just as a way to keep work contacts separate from personal ones.
But if I ever try to go deeper into it and explore its functions and forums and blogs, the stink of bullshit from recruitment consultants, job search coaches, life coaches, people who call themselves “Creative Director” even though they work for a office supplies warehouse, social media bloggers, and perpetual networkers becomes harder and harder to avoid.
I use it to scope out freelancers and see if we have any mutual connections whose opinion I trust.
I then call that person and check out if they’re shit or not before I book them.
It’s pretty crap. Its useful for stalking people if for example you spoke to a CD somewhere once and they liked you and you want to find out where they’ve gone. Mostly I get pestered by photographers, illustrators etc trying to add me (connect with me?) looking for work that they won’t get this way.
linked in is useful if you are still looking to move jobs – just put all your keywords in your profile and sit back and let recruitment vampires find you and headhunt you. These days even though I am perfectly happy in my current job, I like having a carousel of potential new jobs waved in front of my nose every day without having gone on the search for them and one day one of them might be attractive enough to take my fancy
I find it useful in lieu of a CV (for suits, recruiters, HR etc).
Also just as a way of remembering where and when I was working in different places, but that’s more just for personal reasons.
Profile pics are too small. It’s rather difficult to masturbate over a blonde recruiter’s pic in thumbnail format. Sort it out LI !
It’s the best dating website ever.
I recently stopped paying to host my own domain /website. I see Linkedin as free server space. A place to keep work stored and contacts/cv updated. Thats it.
If you dig deep enough you can turn off all the annoying email alerts for every time someone looks/endorses/masturbates (sam) over your profile.
It is not and never will be the place I turn to when looking for work. Use your real contacts for that.
And there I was, thinking that you actually *wanted* to be part of my LinkedIn network… When all the time you were running an experiment. I’m hurt.
I found it more useful when I was freelancing, to let people know if I was or wasn’t available. Also to keep experiences/client list up to date. I scored a couple of well-piad short gigs through it via people I’d never met in person. Hardly use it now I’m back in a full-time role though.
Ahem. Well-paid. Oops.
Ben
Like ORH I feel used. Soiled even.
We are clearly just numbers to you.
Pawns in the game.
Is it possible to unlink on LinkedIn?
It’s useful when it’s useful, and annoying when it’s not.
500+ done and dusted.
SG, feel free to un-link me or whatever, but you’ll miss out on all those networking opportunities and lunch dates 😉
I’m now interested to see what, if anything, happens.
But it’s been interesting getting back in touch with a bunch of people I hadn’t seen in ages.
I’ve joined it last month – but my CD actually made my profile in 2010 – just so he can have a connection 🙂
The best thing I saw recently was a fake slogan for LinkedIn – “Connect with people for no reason at all”
Lubomir: that’s why it’s the best dating site ever. You have the pretense of “it’s for work purposes”.
What? You mean you didn’t add me to be friends?