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Archive for the ‘LinkedIn’ Category

LinkedIn Groups Become A Little More Useful

April 23rd, 2009 by Erin Posted in LinkedIn | No Comments »

In case you haven’t noticed – LinkedIn Groups just got a makeover. 

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.

 Tags: linkedin groups, linkedin job discussion, managing linkedin groups

Small Business Networking|A Sure-Fire Solution In A Down Economy

February 20th, 2009 by Erin Posted in LinkedIn, Small Business, Stature Projects, Twitter | 1 Comment »

Even with a comprehensive government stimulus plan in place – we still have a long road to hoe.

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.

 Tags: small business networking, social networking, web 2.0 platforms, wordpress blogs

A New LinkedIn Profile Feature: Tagging?

February 11th, 2009 by Erin Posted in Business, LinkedIn | No Comments »

While the big news out of LinkedIn this week is their big launch in Germany and the membership it will take away from the international business networking powerhouse Xing, I am more intrigued about the impending makeover coming soon to our LinkedIn profile pages.

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…

 Tags: business networking, linkedin connections, linkedin lions, linkedin profile, profile tagging

Resources, Relevancy Can Help Ease Layoff Fears

January 29th, 2009 by Erin Posted in Business, LinkedIn, Twitter | No Comments »

They say layoffs haven’t been this bad since the Great Depression.

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. 

 

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 Tags: bloody monday, job cuts, layoffs, LinkedIn, recession, top warning signs that a pink slip is coming

LinkedIn LION: Connection Counting Controversy Brews

January 24th, 2009 by Erin Posted in Business, LinkedIn | 1 Comment »

There’s trouble in paradise.

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.

 Tags: business contact, cio.com, connection counting, LinkedIn, LIONs, steven burda