The speed of LinkedIn

I'm pretty excited about helping you really get to where you're going faster, so I'm posting for the second time today.

I recently tried networking on another site which I'll refer to as Onstermay. One of the challenges I see with the aforementioned site is that people have been putting their profiles there for a while. Because they have been placing their profiles on that site for a while, there is a truly vast ocean of job seekers who are simply there to get a job. When you offer the opportunity to "try out" networking to those folks [We're all just folks...], a good number of them will add the networking feature, but that doesn't mean they know how to network.

In my month of networking at Onstermay I found that maybe 10-15% responded to my request. 85% did nothing or simply clicked a button which meant I wasn't allowed to contact them. Now, I know how to network. I didn't simply send them a message saying, "I've got a great product or service for you to buy!" So, a pretty good percentage of the people there don't even understand that simply responding with a "No, thank you." will earn them a point in that system. You earn points for doing different things and the end result is that people with higher point totals are assumed to be more active.

I don't want to get bogged down in all the details, but with the low level of response, combined with the more cumbersome functionality of the site, you will simply have to spend more time to get results from people through their system. Plus, I don't know if their system counts the "Do not allow this person to contact me anymore" notifications as strikes against you. If that's the case, it won't be long before someone like me is locked out of networking there. Why? Because I contacted people in the hopes of networking with them based upon their profile. Once. Not badgering, but simply attempting to network with people who supposedly chose to participate in networking on that site.

Part of the problem is that you are not introduced by anyone real. Onstermay "introduces" you. This is only marginally better than random if at all. With LinkedIn, you send a request through someone you are directly connected to, and if they see that the request is relevant to the person you have asked them to send the request to, they will send it on. So we act as screeners for each other. I am doing this right now. Someone has sent me a request which I feel I need to ask the person on the other end about. If she says that this type of thing is ok to send, I will let the request through.

When you pay attention to the requests that come through, the people in your network appreciate that and will pay more attention when requests come through you. Some of this you may need to experience to get the full effect. There is definitely experiential learning with LinkedIn.com. It may be like walking through a door for you. You may not truly see the power of LinkedIn until you are signed up, connected to at least a few people directly, and making a request to meet someone through one of your connections.

In case you're wondering about the responsiveness on LinkedIn, my personal experience is that 80% of the people contacted will respond. About 10% of those will respond with "No, thank you." Some will respond in a couple weeks, but most will respond within a few days. About 15% will respond within 24 hours and some of those will respond within a couple hours!

If you know what you're trying to accomplish, you can find the people to help you do that through networking. Networking through LinkedIn is becoming better every day!

As of three minutes ago, I am directly connected to 218 people on LinkedIn. Those people are directly connected to another 18,000+ on my 2nd degree. My 2nd degree is connected to 425,700+ on my 3rd degree and those are in turn connected to 1,155,800+ on my 4th degree at LinkedIn. The total is 1,624,200+ in my network at LinkedIn when you also count the 24,400+ brave souls who are ok with anyone making requests for contact with them, even without a referral!

I have brought a good number of my contacts to LinkedIn, but I believe around two-thirds are people I have met through LinkedIn and my direct connections there. Once you meet someone, you can decide if you want to connect directly or continue to go through someone else.

I was talking on the phone yesterday with an artist who would like to have her work on greeting cards and I am working on making that happen. That's something she would like to happen, something next on her agenda.

What do you need next most?

Who do you know?

Let's network and help you reach your goals faster as you help others reach their goals faster.

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