Though I continue to resist my wife’s pressure to join Facebook, I have begun to do some more professional networking, so I have spread my LinkedIn net.
As those who are enrolled will know, there are stats that break down demographic information based on your “Network” (essentially, everyone similarly enrolled within a 3rd-degree-of-separation from you).
For example, I have 136 connections, which means my Network ripples out to 1,073,300+ users.
So, in breaking down the Regional stats, the first few results are not very surprising:
San Francisco Bay Area (21%) – my home for two decades and where I’ve worked since getting my degrees
Greater Los Angeles Area (11%) - I grew up in SoCal and am in the movie business
Greater New York City area (10%) - the biggest city in the US and where I do have some friends, family, and colleagues
London, UK (3%) - I got my MA in England and have colleagues there, too
All well and good. But #5? India (3%). I have one connection who is of Southeast Asian decent, and while I do understand that there are a billion people there, I still registered surprise that it ranked the same as the UK (where I have actually visited and made personal connections; I’ve never done either with India), even though none of my 1st-degree connections actually reside in India.
My wife said, “Oh, everybody’s #5 is India!”
So, for all you LinkedIn folks out there–is India in your top 5? Do you have any seemingly unrelated geographic regions that are dominant in your Network? Please include where you currently live (if your Location tag doesn’t already indicate such) and how many connections you have.
15% 1. Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area
6% 2. Greater New York City Area
5% 3. Washington D.C. Metro Area
4% 4. San Francisco Bay Area
3% 5. Greater Chicago Area
I’m feeling a little provincial, since my top 5 are all in the US. I only have a handful of non-US connections. I’m a little surprised at the Bay Area, since none of my direct connections are there, but I think that area just has high Linked-In participation.
India is not on my list, #5 is a small European city that happens to be the home of the European headquarters of the company that I work for, so I have a lot of colleagues there.
Chicago is actually the biggest mystery for me. I can only think of one person that I could call right now in the greater Chicago area. My company is a subsidiary of an Indian company and most of my cow-orkers are Indians.
Interestingly, just today, “Greater Chicago Area” bumped India out of my Top 5. Now, I don’t think I have any 1st connection link from either area, so I don’t know how it got displaced. New totals: 221 connections
San Francisco Bay Area (19%) – down 2%, though almost everyone I’ve added since last time lives here
Greater New York City area (10%) - same % but up 1 in ranking. Curious.
Greater Los Angeles Area (9%) - Down 2% and 1 ranking. Strange since most of my non-Bay Area additions have been in the Hollywood area (for work)
London, UK (4%) - Up 1%
Greater Chicago Area (2%) - 1% lower than India last time, but still enough to bump it.
I think a lot of people in India are on LinkedIn. I’m basing this on the totally anecdotal evidence that I have gotten invites from a few friends and acquaintances and friends of friends in India. (I’m not on LinkedIn, but I did work in India last summer. Still, I think I’ve gotten LinkedIn invites from more people in India than I have in the US. I’m not really clear on what LinkedIn is for, so I just ignore them all.)
Connections 63
Secondary 15,400+
Tertiary 1,515,300+
6% 1. Greater New York City Area
3% 2. Greater Chicago Area
3% 3. Greater Atlanta Area
3% 4. Washington D.C. Metro Area
3% 5. San Francisco Bay Area
My local area is Jackson, Miss. so I’m a bit puzzled as to why these other cities show up. It may be from an engineering group I’m a member of, whose members are nationwide.
Connections - 120
2 degrees away - 15,800+
3 degrees away - 1,458,200+
15% 1. San Francisco Bay Area
8% 2. Greater New York City Area
4% 3. Greater Chicago Area
3% 4. Greater Los Angeles Area
3% 5. Washington D.C. Metro Area
India is my #5. I am not surprised, since many of my contacts are from a software company where I used to work. Anyone in an IT industry probably does have India in there. I work in publishing and educational technology - my top five include where I live, New York, Boston, D.C., and India. No surprise.
Your trusted friends and colleagues 84
Two degrees away 5,900+
Three degrees away 585,000+
Total users you can contact through an Introduction 591,000+
54% 1. Ottawa, Canada Area
6% 2. Toronto, Canada Area
6% 3. San Francisco Bay Area
3% 4. Canada
2% 5. Ontario, Canada
I’d never seen these stats either: thanks.