What are the advantages? I see it as a stuffier version of Facebook. I’m active professionally on Facebook already. I do get a LOT of invites to join or connect with people through LinkedIn.
Anyone finding it to be useful ?
Thanks !!
Cartooniverse
I prefer LinkedIn because it doesn’t have any of the stupid games and crap that facebook has, no children of family try to friend me, and its only about professional networking.
Hate the facebook.
Yep. I like it because it helps me keep track of people I know professionally. Since it’s specifically to be used for professional networking, it’s much easier to figure out where people work, how long they’ve worked there, what they do, etc.
I like Facebook well enough, but I like to keep my work and personal lives as separate as possible.
There seems to be a lot of industry-to-industry variation as to whether LinkedIn or Facebook is the site of choice. In my branch of academia, Facebook is definitely the go-to site, but I still have a LinkedIn account from when I was in development. I have enough useful contacts that it’s worth keeping, but I’m not active by any means.
I’m a freelance book indexer, and the last time I went to an indexing conference, a lot of the other indexers said they’d had some business come through LinkedIn. So I’ve got a profile set up now, and some contacts, but haven’t really seen any action myself yet.
Your post leads me to my next question. Is something like LinkedIn used more for marketing and self-promotion and gathering leads, or sharing information and keeping track of current contacts and colleagues?
I think LinkedIn is used for both but that the two worlds don’t link in between them that much (ironically). The self publists seem to live in their own little bubble and the social media e-commerce idiots that infect it are universally loathed.
I use it for the latter, but also get regular headhunter approaches which might be useful one day.
I cannot see how Facebook would possibly measure up to it as a business tool. FB is fine for keeping in touch with friends and sharing your photos with them but nothing else as far as I can see. But then like others I am pretty keen in keeping work and social life separate.
For me its a self-updating rolodex.
I don’t Facebook with any professional colleagues or any family.
My husband is a freelance medical writer who created a profile and now gets inundated with recruitment agents wanting to speak to him about job vacancies.
I have not. I haven’t accomplished enough yet professionally to warrant it. I love seeing one of my distant cousin’s profiles on there, listing her BA and every menial stupid job she’s had since ninth grade. I’m sure the employer of her dreams will google her name, find out she worked Shopper’s Drug Mart for six months, and make her CFO on the spot. :rolleyes:
Maybe I’m just cynical, but Facebook is already taking the place of real socializing. How many people would suddenly “lose touch” with you if you deactivated your account? Is this sort of thing going to replace “networking,” as I hear gainfully employed people describe it, or is it just going to be an online forum to park your CV?
I use LinkedIn for networking, keeping in touch with former co-workers who I’m not quite friends with, and getting and receiving recommendations. I’d never do that on Facebook.
Yes, but I have no idea why. The only time I ever log on is to accept an invitation from someone else, and that doesn’t happen too often.
Pretty much this, for business contacts.
I’m on there and have been for about 7 years now. I have very little information there, but I might at some point make it my on-line CV.
I can see in the future applying for a job with a cover letter, or email, that includes a link to your LinkedIn profile, and that’s it.
As a freelance, part-time voice actor I use LinkedIn to network with video and audio producers. They often get talent by word of mouth and having a recommendation from a mutual friend is a lot better than a cold call.
FaceBook is personal, LinkedIn is professional…my profiles do not intersect.
I’ve had a LinkedIn account for about 4 years now. In my industry it seems to be where everyone is. I’ve managed to reconnect with several old managers and co-workers, as well as being contacted by a couple of head-hunters. One of them was actually tempting, but I had no interest in moving to where the job was.
LinkedIn is about networking, without all the posts about “Look at the baby ducks I saw today”, or “I need help building my Farmville barn”
I never joined LinkedIn because they’ve sent me too much spam.
Really? The only stuff I get from LinkedIn are the occasional updates from contacts and requests to link with people. It is as close to spam free as you can get. Maybe you have some setting wrong.
I was on Facebook once, for 20 minutes, a few years ago. Someday I need to accept a few friend requests.
I agree with most everyone else - I prefer LinkedIn because it stays professional. I’ve only built my list from requests from others, but I could grow it very quickly if I wanted to. I’ve also started up Groups for a conference and a professional organization I’m involved with, and they come with a discussion group, which isn’t very active.
The only people who seem to post what they are doing are salesman friends, but the whole thing is quite low key. If I ever needed to find a job it would be useful if just to remind me of contacts, but I’ve got other networking possibilities also.
Makes me want to stay away from it.