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Oct 15, 2008
@robdiana @michaelfidler @hutch @louisgray @thomaspower @vincentwright @christiananderson @jeffisageek @scobleizer Is LinkedIn still relevant if you're not looking for a job? Or, is there something going on there that I'm just missing?
Oct 15, 2008
@jasongoldberg: There are a lot of "grown-ups" on LinkedIn, and they come in handy sometimes. I've found that C-levels are more likely to be on LinkedIn than other networks. It behooves you to keep a presence on LinkedIn, and requires little maintenance. I like to think of it as a Virtual Chamber of Commerce (sans mini-muffins).
Oct 15, 2008
I use LinkedIn as my professional rolodex. It's easy to DM others there (kinda like Twitter). It's also great for background on people. Haven't gotten into its Q&A or Group features yet, because I don't have work activities to exchange with people in different companies and fields. At least not yet.
Oct 15, 2008
There's plenty of value in logging one's career progress in real time rather than only when you're looking to switch jobs. As Hutch says the rolodex features are also nice. I am using the Q&A system to build up a bit of credibility on topic that I find interesting.
Oct 15, 2008
Jason,
Thanks for including me in your question. Basically, Linkedin is as relevant as you need it to be. If you have other sources which are already satisfying your needs or ones which you believe solve your particular problems faster than Linkedin then that, in and of itself, determines Linkedin's relevancy to you as an individual. As for me, personally, I've been all over the map with Linkedin: from extraordinary, otherworldly highs with boundless expectations, to the absolute lowest of lows - lower than I'll share with you in this response. Over the past 4 years, I invested probably 7,500 hours of times and created literally hundreds of Linkedin-centric forums, groups, and blogs servicing tens of thousands of men and women from all corners of the world discussing all major topics important to business professionals. In the end: that proved to be a business as well as a personal mistake. Not a mistake to serve men and women in discussion groups. That's still one of my favorite joys. It was a mistake pouring more into Linkedin than I was getting out of it. (This is not based on a short-term assessment but, rather, an assessment of a multi-year, in-depth involvement in Linkedin.) Though 90+% of the boundless enthusiasm I had for Linkedin is irretrievably gone, I'd still recommend it to small business users, job seekers, and Recruiters. (Of course, with a caveat that they go in with a WRITTEN OUT plan which includes such things as overall ROI, backing up key data, and an escape plan should anomalies manifest in Linkedin's decision making about the end-user data being generated there.) As with any of the things which strongly capture our attention, we need to establish some level of equilibrium in our relationship with it. Having gone through all manner of things with Linkedin, my point of equilibrium is to merely consider it as a business tool - no better, nor not much worse than any of the other business tools you and I decide to use to help ourselves do business better, find jobs quicker, address social causes more strategically, etc. Of course, I have endless opinions on the subject of Linkedin but, that not withstanding, I'd have written a shorter response, if I'd had a bigger cup of coffee! :-) Keep STRONG, Jason! Vincent Wright
Oct 15, 2008
Oct 15, 2008
I haven't tried Xing... I'll check it out and then let you know when I can do a side-by-side comparison.
Oct 15, 2008
@hrrajpal @soganoff @rachelbeer @jeffcutler @jbuss @leolaporte @shannonswenson @mona @damato @elbaso @johnxkills thoughts on effectiveness of LinkedIn and LinkedIn vs. Xing and other business networks?
Oct 15, 2008
@jasongoldberg Because I'm more experienced at using Linkedin, I'd probably be prejudiced in my voting and vote in favorite of Linkedin. And, too, because Linkedin is substantially larger - and larger sites tend to serve generalists like me better - I'd probably, again, rule in favor of Linkedin. However, the one enduring issue with Linkedin which would cause me to rule in favor of Xing is Linkedin's lackadaisical interest in its user interface, its less than stellar on-site communication capabilities, and its supremely challenged Customer Service department. (There are a few others but, must run take care of a client... bye for now...)
Oct 15, 2008
The best business network you can have is the one where you actually can pick up the phone or pop into a person's office to say hi and to get something done.
If we're smart, the first thing we do when we're faced with right-sizing or redundancy adjustment is to reach out to real people. Next is to look around our social media circles to see who's in a spot to help us. Last is the blind communication to people who could help us if they only knew us better. That said, I think LinkedIn is more like a safety-net application. I've built up my connections there so I can offer them help if the worst happens in their careers. I can use my other contacts to connect people and if I need to get info for a story or column, I can reach some real smart people there. It's well beyond what you get on MySpace or Facebook and it's much more responsive (and valuable) than the quick-hit stuff you get on Twitter. As for Xing - I think I'm on there, but I haven't tried it. There seem to be a proliferation of Jeff Cutlers in the area now and I've tried to lock down all the networks and Web apps I can with my own name. But that doesn't mean I can use all of them all the time. If I find out more, I'll be back. Thanks for including me. Jeff http://www.jeffcutler.com 
Oct 15, 2008
Apart from job hunting, I don't know what use it really is aside from providing a way to keep in touch with people who might be useful professionally, but who you might not see socially.
I've dipped a toe into the forums and Q&A, but not found them engaging enough to go back. From my point of fiew, apart from the horrible UI, and the fact that it's so hard to make any changes without losing them, the main problem is that many people still don't even have a profile, or intend to create one, so it still feels quite niche. Incidentally, I've suddenly found, in the last few days, that I've been contacted by recruitment consultants who've searched LinkedIn and found my profile. I was telling headhunters to look at my profile a few months ago and now it's happening proactively. 
Oct 15, 2008
for me Linkedin is just a safety net for job hunting. I don't really use it for anything else than adding more people, with the hope that if i ever do need to find a job, I've got a place to reach out to. I don't email on it, i don't post anything on it. All I do is grow my network. @jasongoldberg @robdina @vincentwright @hutch
Oct 15, 2008
@jasongoldberg I have never used Xing, so I can't comment on that. The real question is whether your network is really people that you have contacted at some point and what you are trying to get out of it.
Oct 15, 2008
I think linkedin is indeed, like @jeffcutler says, a "safety-net". When you got a job you only use it for connecting with ppl you encounter and thus expanding your network. When you DON'T have a job however, linkedin can come in very handy... problem is: you have to have a network established to benefit from it. You can't start building a network the moment you lost your job. It can be seen as a "precautionary measure". Get in before it's too late!
Oct 15, 2008
I use LinkedIn for research, inspiration, lead generation and keeping in touch. Recruiters seem to use it heavily as well. It's a good question and one I've heard asked about most social media platforms. The least of whom that should be asking is LinkedIn themselves, lest they risk becoming irrelevant. http://twitter.com/shannonswenson
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