Anybody else doing LinkedIn?

Howard_Rourke · 09-27-2007, 09:03 AM

It's a networking site for professionals. It operates on the 3-degrees of separation theory. Basically we're all connected. Anyway, I was invited to join this site a few days back and I've already found a few old friends I haven't spoken to in years.

Just curious to see if anyone else is using it.

jruck37 · 09-27-2007, 09:05 AM

I've got a page. I haven't really had time to get too into it... just connected with a few friends.

Mahler · 09-27-2007, 09:15 AM

I'm in, but have not explored yet, either.

Aoife · 09-27-2007, 09:31 AM

Been in for a bit, but my page isn't updated and I only bothered linking to a couple friends. Which reminds me I should totally update that and crap.

RedLefty · 09-27-2007, 09:35 AM

Yep, been there for a couple of years.

chris_f · 09-27-2007, 09:51 AM

I've found tons of old contacts, many of whom I had not spoken with in quite sometime. As an HR professional, it's a great networking tool.

Phaedrus49er · 09-27-2007, 10:05 AM

There. Check it once a week or so.

Alextown · 09-27-2007, 03:24 PM

I have a membership too, but rarely use it. Maybe I'll revisit it based on Shark's response, it could be valuable to me.

SpacecityPaula · 09-27-2007, 04:46 PM

I'm there too.
Check it every couple of months or so.

castufari · 09-27-2007, 06:51 PM

I use it heavily, a lot of my business contacts are in there. Got my bro in there who works at MS, so my numbers are pretty skewed. I think I have like 49k contacts in there.

ohammersmith · 09-27-2007, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by castufari

I use it heavily, a lot of my business contacts are in there. Got my bro in there who works at MS, so my numbers are pretty skewed. I think I have like 49k contacts in there.

You mean 49k direct contacts or 49k people "in your network"... i.e., within three degrees?

I just noticed people within 3 degrees of me just topped a million. Do I get a prize?

Deserve · 09-28-2007, 07:24 AM

I'm on it. It's OK.

cappuccino · 09-28-2007, 02:10 PM

never heard of it. Guess I'm lame and networkless

Deserve · 10-01-2007, 07:48 AM

If anyone has any tips to get value out of it I would love to hear it.

ohammersmith · 10-01-2007, 10:16 AM

Guy Kawaski did a good post on that very topic. See Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn.

Chris Correia · 10-01-2007, 10:30 AM

The original concept is six degrees of separation, but it's not terribly scientifically based. Where did the three degrees come from?

I recall reading in Wired or Fast Company or somewhere about alternative networking sites (other than Facebook and Myspace).

This may have been one of them. I'm curious to check it out. What others do people know about that seem to have some value to them?

Phaedrus49er · 10-01-2007, 11:20 AM

Chris, Wired did an article a month or two ago. LinkedIn is both good and bad because of its limited scope--a lot of networking goes on within Facebook considering how the networks themselves are setup, but personally, my LinkedIn contacts are mostly also contacts on Facebook and/or MySpace.

Chris Correia · 10-01-2007, 11:53 AM

Thanks for the lead. I'll search Wired's site. It'll be easier than paging through back issues.

ohammersmith · 10-01-2007, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Correia

The original concept is six degrees of separation, but it's not terribly scientifically based. Where did the three degrees come from?

IIRC they originally started with more than 3 degrees, while the network was building. I think they've tuned it to 3 based on some logic or other.

Or maybe they just picked it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Correia

This may have been one of them. I'm curious to check it out. What others do people know about that seem to have some value to them?

I just got a job offer that started there.

Paradigm · 10-01-2007, 05:34 PM

I just filled out my profile on LinkedIn after reading about it, since it never hurts to try to branch out among other people in the field, especially with computer programming since I'd like to stay on top of what other people do (I'm a component developer).

Thanks for mentioning the site, does indeed have a lot of people on there.