Those who are in my contacts database will know that I’ve recently started using LinkedIn. After inviting my contacts to join me, I received several emails asking what it was all about. To save sending individual replies, and to help anyone else who would like to know more, I decided to write this blog post.
LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site which is mainly used for professional networking. As of July 2009 there were more than 49 million registered users across over 170 industries. There are various levels of membership including the basic free service, which is probably fine for most users.
The site allows users to maintain a list of people they know and trust in business. The people in the list are called Connections and users can invite others to become a connection. This is made very simple by allowing the site to access contacts in Outlook and popular web-based email platforms such as Google Mail or Hotmail. The Outlook integration is enabled via a toolbar, pictured below:
The Outlook toolbar also lets you connect with people you email frequently, invite people with a single click and update you contacts with LinkedIn information.
When you create your new LinkedIn account you create profile visible to other LinkedIn users in your network. This provides information to your connections and helps others who may want to connect with you. I’m still in the process of completing mine but you can view it here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jamescash
Once you’re up and running, having created your profile and added some connections, you’re free to take advantage of the other many benefits of LinkedIn including:
- Get introductions to people in your contacts’ networks
- Join LinkedIn groups covering your local area or profession
- Re-connect with past colleagues you may have lost contact with
- Ask questions of people in your network to find answers to business problems
- Find trusted suppliers of business services you may need
For iPhone users there is also a free app that let’s you access many of the LinkedIn features whilst you’re out and about. You can download the app here.
If you’d like to find out more about LinkedIn, here are some useful articles I came across:
What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn how to
17 invisible LinkedIn tricks revealed
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