Linkedin is the best professional networking site around.

I just signed up today. I've found that a number of people I know (FlyerTalkers and others) are already there. I easily found a bunch of former colleagues that I had lost track of. They had scattered to the four winds, and LinkedIn seemed like a quick and easy place to look. We'll see how many of them respond to my attempts to reconnect. I'm changing careers, so I'm not so much looking to connect with them for business reasons, though it might be nice to get a reference or two from them.

i'm there.. good to get ion touch with people from the past, especially as i have moved around the world with my work. not as silly as facebook, but that's more for fun really.

Etiquette question:

I deal with numerous "vendors" on my day-to-day job. I've noticed a few of them are either in my 3rd level referrals, or easily found by searches on their company name. It's amazing how many people I know who are on LinkedIn!

Do you think in a vendor-customer relationship it would be rude to send them an invite seeing you deal with them on a frequent basis? Do you see LinkedIn as being for something like this, or do you see it more for people who work together/know each other on a social level to connect?

PS - Yep it's interesting what you find when you search for Flyertalk! (I have a 3rd level contact who identifies as a Flyertalker, plus of course there are a couple of very interesting LinkedIN FT'ers!)

I think that it is fine to contact someone that you know/that would know you for a professional invitation. I see it as purely professional and not personal/social at all.

I think the answer is self-evident. Just take a look at the "About" page:

http://www.linkedin.com/static?key=c...fo&trk=ftr_abt

For example:

not rude at all ... if they're not interested for whatever reason then they'll decline the invitation. the sky will not fall.

my linkedin contacts are a mixed bag--a lot of folks i know socially through my professional life (that is, we've never worked together) ... it's helped me find a lot of people from my past.

I use LinkedIn. I only link to people I know personally and even then sometimes choose not to link to them. ;)

Edited to add: Just realized this was in CommunityBuzz, came to this thread by searching on something else. I assumed it was in OMNI. Oh well, as I am not a CommunityBuzz poster I will leave you all now and let you get back to your drunken DOs and debauched revelings. :D

I don't know anyone on LinkedIn... or at least I haven't found anyone that I know and apparently since I've sighned up nobody has found me either.

Go figure.

--Russ

I use linkedin as well. Have gotten a few spam nothing major and no calls from headhunters even though I wouldnt mind a few;)

CPTANGO

I've connected to some old contacts. Connections and networking helped me get my current job. I've even helped bring two people along, so I do my best to keep these connections.

Joined due to a decision by my grad school program to use LinkedIn to network alumni. Works better than our alma mater's system. We're a special breed, with less than 1K alumni total (only 50-60 grads/year). In just a few months, we've gotten almost everyone online, and we have our own "group" on LinkedIn.

Otherwise, I've used it to reconnect with former co-workers & classmates from undergrad, and to try to network with another limited population to which I belong (awardees of a particular Fellowship).

I've connected with others sparingly, preferring those I know, or at least those to whom a rational professional connection makes sense. That said, it has lead to useful business leads for my consulting business, and to being recruited for some very interesting opportunities that I would not have otherwise heard or thought of.

I've got just under 200 connections, and really view those with boatloads of connections with a lot of suspicion.

I've been using LinkedIn since its beta. It is a great professional tool. I also use Facebook, Xing and one other that I can't remember at the moment. I find LinkedIn to be the best at connecting to people I know and trust.

KathyWdrf I found you on LinkedIn and looked at your profile. I switched from Taxation to Software, but that was 20 years ago. :D

My policy is to not link with someone I don't personally know. I did link with 'Flip' which is how I came to join Xing/OpenBC during its beta even though I don't personally know 'Flip'.

I'm on LinkedIn as well - it's come in handy, and I'm finding quite a few people I have worked with!

If you want to read a fascinating and very practical explanation of the usefulness of LinkedIn, I recommend John W. Parkers' blog entry below.

First, he explains why you might want to join and use Linkedin; and
Second, he explains how to best take the steps necessary, since the Help pages on LinkedIn are a little technical.

http://s92443876.onlinehome.us/MT/ke...es/001865.html

I hope that some of you will find this helpful.