Skip to Site Navigation | Skip to Content

Blog

How do you use LinkedIn?

I've recently become a pretty big fan of LinkedIn. I know, I'm sure that I'm late to the party, but I've just never explored all of the Facebook / MySpace / LinkedIn world until recently. I still haven't explored MySpace and don't really plan to, but I do have a Facebook account and a LinkedIn account now.

It seems to me that LinkedIn is a bit more useable for professional purposes, whereas Facebook might be a good personal tool. That's just my impression based on a pretty limited experience. But, based on that impression, I've spent a lot more time on LinkedIn rather than Facebook.

I'd like to expand my knowledge of how to use LinkedIn as a tool, so I'm wondering if any of you have experience and / or suggestions to share on how to use LinkedIn. So far, my LinkedIn experience has consisted of:

  1. Finding and connecting with people that I know
  2. Using my network to connect with a couple of people I don't know
  3. Reading and answering questions in the forums
  4. Recommending people and asking some people to recommend me

I can see that there is a lot of power in this tool just waiting to be unleashed, so don't leave me hanging here. Leave me a comment with your secrets of the LinkedIn kingdom. Or, if you don't like LinkedIn, you can say that too.

Posted on Thu, December 13, 2007 by Tim Wall

4 comments (Add your own)

1. Colin Rowley wrote:
Um, Tim? What took you so long to create a Facebook account? Heck, what took you so long to create a LinkedIn account? Both of these have been around for years and received a ton of hype. I used to think you were hip and up-to-date... now I'm left reconsidering my previous opinion of you ;-) I am a firm believer in both LinkedIn and Facebook. However, it would be nice if I could use both tools in one. One cool recommendation: There is a Facebook app for LinkedIn you might want to look into. Believe it or not, I do most of my business networking through Facebook. Given the Wall and Comment structure, it's easier to make business connections there vs on LinkedIn. If anything, I find LinkedIn to be the future of what a resume will look like - who you are, what you know, where you worked, where you went to school, who recommends you, and lastly (for us sales guys), who you know.

Thu, December 13, 2007 @ 11:17 PM

2. Veronica wrote:
Well Linkedin is pretty different than all the other networking sites. Linkedin is very professional than any other social networking site. It can be termed as business networking site. More than fun people join Linkedin for purpose. I came across this site from some of the Blog which say Linkedin can be accessed over the phone without internet. In fact with this service, Linkedin access will be even more convenient than ever. http://modazzle.com/cms/modazzleLp1.html?channel=CM&camp=LinkedIn

Fri, December 14, 2007 @ 3:47 AM

3. Tim Wall wrote:
@Colin -- yeah, sorry to burst your bubble there, but I am no expert in Facebook, LinkedIn or MySpace. I haven't seen the need until recently and even now, I'm still just exploring to see if this applications can really meet a need for me in my work, hence the post asking for input. Thanks for the tip on the Facebook app, I will check that out. @Veronica -- thanks for the interesting info on MoDazzle.

Fri, December 14, 2007 @ 7:36 AM

4. Jason Zimdars wrote:
For me Linkedin is a digital resume. In fact these days it seems we get more links to Linkedin profiles than traditional resumes from prospective employees.

Fri, December 14, 2007 @ 3:54 PM

Add a New Comment

Enter the code you see below:
code
 

Comment Guidelines: No HTML is allowed. Off-topic or inappropriate comments will be edited or deleted. Thanks.