Courtesy: LifeHacker

Social media and networking are no longer just about status updates and sharing information. These days people are just as concerned about visualizing their contacts and connections as they are about hearing what they’re up to.

Twitter has many of its own visualization tools – like Twiangulate and MentionMap. Now, LinkedIn has joined in on the visualization fun by developing what they call InMaps.

If you’ve ever wondered what your personal network looks like – now you can see it. In January, LinkedIn launched InMaps as an experimental project that lets users visualize the connections within their business networks. InMaps technology filters through a users connections to see how everyone knows each other – and then groups people together into network clusters based on their associations.

InMaps can basically shed light on who the major connections and influencers are in your network. People with bigger dots and larger fonts have more connections – and typically more influence.

This application will no doubt help business executives branch out and raise their profiles within certain network clusters. With the help of InMaps, you can make targeted recommendations based on the most influential people identified.

Check it out and see what InMaps reveals about your own business network. What you see may surprise you.

- An ability to track contributions to a story or discussion.

- A revolving carousel of stories which gives users a new way to browse and participate in the most popular discussions.

- A new box that highlights the “top influencers” of a group, which is based who contributes to discussions.

- A “like” or “pass” button.

Based on these features, it may seem that LinkedIn Groups is now more of a popularity contest than a place to share and exchange. But people are digging the whole social network vibe. They really, really are.

LinkedIn says its new interface has already significantly increased member participation – a number they measure by user comments and visits to Groups. LinkedIn says it was also listening this summer to several complaints about how the new features effect users’ abilities to moderate – or lack thereof. So, now, in true LinkedIn style – the site has presented its first set of improvements. And while, they won’t fix some of the other common complaints – such as speed – they do make life easier for moderators. Here are the highlights.

1. Delete threads directly. Moderators can fight spam by simply deleting inappropriate content from the “More” tap on any groups’ thread.

2. New email notifications. Sure, email notifications are not new, but now group managers can get email alerts for every new post and DELETE SPAM and INAPPROPRIATE POSTS straight from those emails!

3. Find other users to help moderate. Group managers don’t have to take on the work of moderating the group alone. They can now deputize trusted members to help moderate.

4. Encourage others to flag inappropriate content. All users can help weed out spam and inappropriate content by flagging. All posts and comments flagged as inappropriate are then added to the group managers’ new moderation queue. In one swift move, they can delete or clear flags from posts as well as blacklist spammers with the powerful “remove member, block & delete contributions” button.

While the new LinkedIn Groups may look like a three-ring circus compared to the old version, it has improved the quality of conversations and it works very much like a social network. But, LinkedIn says this is just the first in a series of improvements. Perhaps the best is yet to come…

LinkedIn for BlackBerry is out and it’s loaded with all sorts of modules and integration features – BUT it’s missing something, something very important.

First, the good.

BlackBerry users have been waiting anxiously for this LinkedIn app for quite some time and when it was unveiled, the big “Ta-Da” generated a lot of buzz  from bloggers on Twitter.

“It’s here, it’s here!”… some of them wrote. But after really examining the app, their bubble burst. Alas LinkedIn for BlackBerry is not as feature-rich as LinkedIn for iPhone. (And why would it? BlackBerry apps are never as good as the iPhone’s.)

The app is divided into six key modules: Network Updates, Search, Connections, Invitations, Messages and Reconnect – all of which are pretty self-explanatory.

In addition to the six modules, LinkedIn has also gone ahead and integrated the app with three of BlackBerry’s native apps: Contacts, Messages and Calendar.

1. Contacts: Take your LinkedIn connections and drop them directly into your BlackBerry contacts. This gives you quick access to the LinkedIn profiles of your business associates.

2. Messages: LinkedIn messages appear directly in your BlackBerry Inbox as if they were e-mails.

3. Calendar: If an attendee of an event on your calendar has a LinkedIn profile, you can quickly pull it up.

That, by far, is probably the coolest feature and the app’s greatest strength.

Now, here’s the downside and it’s a BIG downside.

The application is missing a module that allows users to interact with LinkedIn Groups.

To me, Groups is one of the most important components of LinkedIn. It’s where users interact, engage each other, and establish new connections. It’s where I spend most of my time. I don’t spend time browsing my connections. And, I certainly don’t read the network updates. They’re all spill-overs from Twitter anyway.

The other hitch with this new LinkedIn for BlackBerry application is its software and hardware limitations. You’re going to need a BlackBerry Tour, Curve or Bold with BlackBerry OS v4.3 or later in order to really operate it.

Yes, I’m disappointed about this app. I had high hopes for it too. But, as it stands, it’s just taking up precious space on my BlackBerry.

Delete app!

I haven’t – and chances are you haven’t in quite some time.

What has long been considered the social networking site for professionals, is now losing steam to sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Facebook status updates are now riddled with sale pitches and blog posts.

And, Twitter updates – well, we ALL know what they look like.

Unfortunately, with the Facebook and Twitter fad – numerous LinkedIn accounts have gone untouched.

Let’s end the neglect!

While it may not be as dynamic, LinkedIn can provide a lot of value – if used correctly.

So whether you’re new to LinkedIn or ready to reconnect, human resources consultant Sharlyn Lauby presents these strategies to help you get the most out of LinkedIn.

1. Include a photo avatar.

Some media reports claim that because organizations can use any criteria they want to make hiring decisions, photo avatars provide companies with information they may not have otherwise known about you based on a resume alone and could actually hurt you more than help. But, not including a photo with a social networking profile flies in the face of conventional wisdom when your goal is to build relationships and community.

2. Build your network of connections.

While we might be inclined to say quality is better than quantity, it could be possible that the number of connections you have says something about you. Greg Koutsis, corporate and international channel recruiter for Aplicor LLC, says, “if someone has 20-50+ connections then I know they probably check LinkedIn at least once a week. If someone has 1-19 then I realize they probably either haven’t begun to pop the hood and look inside or gotten past the initial threshold of their friends, family and past colleagues. They might be a great prospect for me to reach out to but this might not be the best use of my time. This combined with the profile they have listed lets me realize quickly if I am wasting my time with someone who has no interest or trust in LinkedIn.”

3. Use status updates to your advantage.

The one space where you can keep your connections informed is the status updates section.

Lori Burke, director of human resources at Neighborhood America, explains that updates are not only an interesting read, but very valuable. “I’ve found new networking groups I may not have thought about. Additionally, it allows me to learn what others are involved with or in, who they may be connected to, etc. In total, it widens the scope of knowledge for me.”

4. Seek meaningful recommendations.

A terrific feature of LinkedIn is the ability to provide recommendations. This is a place for your connections to comment about your work. Recommendations can be thought of as beefed up thank you cards. Instead of telling one person how you feel, you’re telling the world that person does good work.

5. Optimize your profile.

Your LinkedIn profile should not just be an online version of your resume, optimizing for search engines is key. The format of your LinkedIn profile might depend on whether you are currently employed and whether or not you are seeking new opportunities. If you are looking for a new position then you might want your profile to look more like a resume, but maybe not so much if  you are currently employed.

6. Use groups to expand your reach.

Groups are a beneficial networking tool and a great way to expand your network.

Today’s rule of thumb should be that anything you post in an online profile may as well be listed on your resume or bio. If you belong to a LinkedIn group that is inconsistent with the business image you wish to portray, then that could be a challenge for you.

7. Consider whether to link your profiles.

Burke believes that accounts should be kept separate. “I believe that this strategy allows me to keep my professional personae separate from my personal. Case in point was the one time I posted a social media article to both applications. My Facebook family and friends found the information of little value to them and I believe the same may be true in reverse. However, I will post general information about me (i.e., speaking engagements) with both networks. In essence, it depends on the content,” she says.

On the other hand, Lance Haun, vice president of outreach at MeritBuilder, explains that LinkedIn is “a snapshot of your life at the time you updated your profile so including Twitter, Facebook, or a blog helps to add living context to your profile.” With the lines between work and life being blurred, posting something business related at 1:00 PM and a picture of a cat at 1:00 AM helps “bring the picture of a person together completely.”

In the end, Koutsis asks, “if people see no reason after viewing your profile to connect with you, then why did you reach out to them in the first place?” The most important thing we can do is create a complete and compelling profile. Because the bottom line is the value proposition you propose when you try to connect with someone on LinkedIn.

According to a new DemandGen Report of business-to-business marketers, business professionals claim social networks are a powerful source for driving leads.

So which are the top social media channels?

Leading the pack was, of course, LinkedIn (58%), followed by company blogs (36%). Surprisingly, Twitter came in third at 31%.

Sites like Facebook (17%) were found to be basically useless – and MySpace wasn’t even on the radar.

More nitty-gritty:

- Small business users say they’ve generated 10 to 15% new leads using social media
- Other small business departments joining the social network fray include: Sales – 41%; Product Management – 21%; Engineering – 13%.
- Top 3 most useful social media tactics: Joining industry groups – 25%; Starting conversation threads – 25%; Answer questions, participating in forums – 23%.

If you have the time, and a little know-how, social media can help ramp up a small business.

Look into lead generation on LinkedIn.

Send out some tweets.

Post to a blog.

It’s all about sharing your brand and spreading the word – just make sure to leave out the sales pitch.

No one wants to read that.  No one.

And we like it.

Up until last month, managing Groups on LinkedIn didn’t require a whole lot of effort; nor did the feature serve a real purpose.

But after listening to bitter complaints from LinkedIn faithful – the site finally made some dynamic changes to its Groups section.

Now, admins can email group members directly for the sake of sharing announcements and creating discussion threads in which members can comment on automatically.

Furthermore, LinkedIn Group managers can now create a custom news stream they consider relevant for the group by enabling support for importing custom RSS and Atom feeds. Managers can also control whether to enable job discussion capabilities within their group, a feature that allows members to discuss job opportunities without cluttering the main conversation.

It’s good to see LinkedIn taking more cues from our social networking friends, like Facebook.

It’s also nice to see LinkedIn going the distance for its users – even if they are a bit slow on the uptake.

Things won’t turn around overnight, and it seems small businesses have caught on to the notion: When the going gets tough – the tough get networking.

I’m not just talking about social networks – I’m talking all networks : Blogs, forums, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.

They’re all being used by small businesses to their fullest advantage and  - for some – business couldn’t be better.

Case in point:

The Charlotte Observer recently featured the story of specialty food maker Donya Schweizer.

When Donya had trouble getting her line of gourmet foods off the ground she turned to blogging and social networking.  A quick WordPress setup and her blog was up and running in a day. She then used the power of Facebook and Twitter to kick start a word-of-mouth campaign. 1,300 Twitter followers later, Donya can’t get her chocolate-infused meat rubs out the door fast enough.

Wait.

Chocolate-infused meat rubs?

I digress.

Bottom line –  Web 2.0 platforms have reached a social tipping point. They’ve transformed the way we communicate and how small businesses operate.

In fact, corporate spending on Web 2.0 software – including blogs, social networks, mashups, podcasts, RSS, widgets and wikis – is expected to climb by a whopping 43% annually.

The networking revolution is here and any business that does not take full advantage of it is – well – not doing good business.

LinkedIn’s expert follower, Steven Tylock, recently posted about a new LinkedIn feature called profile tagging.

Basically, as Tylock suggests, this tagging feature will give LinkedIn members more control over grouping their connection list.

Tagging – as the name suggests – is a simple word or key phrase used to identify something. In this case, a LinkedIn member would use a tag to identify certain connections in their network.

LinkedIn will kindly give you a few tag suggestions, but you’ll also be encouraged to come up with your own tag names. The possibilities are endless. However, I believe most people will stick to company, professional or social group names (i.e. Stature).

Ultimately, LinkedIn hopes you’ll be able to view your connections according to their designated tag, thus making a search for that certain someone easier than ever before. No more sifting through pages and pages of alphabetical lists.

Managing connection lists, especially for those LIONs who have an exorbitant amount, is not any easy task.

But as Tylock recommends, if you keep your tag lists short and your connections on a need-to-know basis you’ll be golden.

Generally, I’m not one for change – but this is one change LinkedIn members will not be able to live without.

LinkedIn profile tagging, coming soon…

Bloody Monday – January 26, 2009 – At least six major U.S. companies from manufacturing and service industries slashed nearly 72,000 jobs.  That’s on top of the 200,000 job cuts that have been announced this year, and the nearly 2.6 million jobs that were lost in 2008.

This news is enough to send anyone – employed or not – into a tailspin. In fact the other morning, I heard a radio dj discussing the “top warning signs that a pink slip is coming.”

I think it was meant to be funny, but it really wasn’t. All it did was instill even more fear and loathing.

So the question I pose: How do you cope when you’ve been laid off, or suspect you’re about to be?

The answers are simple: resources and relevancy.

Pushing a resume around won’t get you anywhere in this market. You must – in fact, you’ll be forced – to use the power of Web 2.0. Today, business is conducted online through social networking sites like LinkedIn, Twitter – even Facebook. It may be a no-brainer to join one of these sites, but the key is stay on top of them and use them to your advantage. Believe it or not, you can get ahead with sites like LinkedIn. All you need is a little know-how.

Which brings me to my next point: relevancy.

Stay relevant when, as they say, you’re “on the beach.”  Don’t waste away, wallowing in your own self pity.

Network – and educate yourself on the best way to do it.

Volunteer with a purpose. Set up a business plan or budget at a local nonprofit.

Keep up with technology, especially as it relates to your field. Did you know that LinkedIn and IBM have partnered to create a new networking service? It’s a dynamic program that will integrate LotusNotes, Connections and LotusLive – and it has the potential to open crucial new doors in the world of professional networking.

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

Yes.

Economists predict that the recession will turn around after the second quarter of 2009.

Until then, keep your head in the game – and don’t forget to laugh. 

�

The blogosphere is buzzing about LinkedIn’s move to clamp down on a controversial association called the LinkedIn open networkers (LIONs). This is a group of LinkedIn members who add thousands of contacts – known on the site as “connections” – even if they are total strangers.

In an effort to restrict some of their activity, LinkedIn recently sent some messages to LIONs saying they had exceeded a newly imposed connection limit of 30,000. As it stands, some LION members say they have pending “invitations to connect” that they can’t accept as a result of the restriction.

CIO.com has been on top of this story, covering it from the beginning. Their recent profile of LinkedIn’s “super connected” revealed a double-edged sword. While LIONs are described as helping strangers find new business opportunities through LinkedIn, they are also referred to as “name collectors” who are trying to build connection lists in order to spam other members.

On any given day, regular free users of LinkedIn can search and access a portion of social network’s 34 million members based on their connection count. There are immediate connections, second degree contacts (friends of friends), and third degree contacts, which are connections made by introduction through a mutual connection. But what many of these users don’t know is that LinkedIn keeps a close tally on all free connections. Rack up so many and your connection size will be listed as “500+” as a way to discourage the practice of connection counting.

LION member and financial planner, Steven Burda openly admits he is a connection counter.  He claims he has 40,000 of them. However, the recommendations on Burda’s profile are proof that he’s not spamming, but actually helping others build business ties.

Depending on which way you look at it, the LIONs are doing something right - or terribly, terribly wrong.

Seems to me these LIONs are trying to buck the system. Rather than buy a premium membership – they are generating contacts and potential business opportunities all for FREE.

CIO reports that if LinkedIn had any legal footing in this matter the LIONs would have been kicked off the site a long time ago. But as threatening as they are to their bottom line, LinkedIn knows that the LIONs are here to stay.