Love for LinkedIn
I am endlessly fascinated by the way people interact with their online networks. Call me nerdy, but I was so pumped the other day when I had an old journalist connection contact me with a request on LinkedIn. The request? Make an introduction for her friend at Groupon to one of my old tech pals. It was LinkedIn at its finest. In a matter of minutes, I made a new connection, strengthened my credibility with my journalist contact, and probably helped out my old pal.
While many people I know tend to think of LinkedIn as intrusive (and only used by headhunters), I tend to think of it as a brilliant way to network with people you might not ever come in contact with otherwise. If you use it correctly, the opportunities are endless.
Case in point, I’m a huge fan of Frank Eliason, SVP of Social Media at Citi. Well known for his work at Comcast, and now at Citi, I recently reached out to him to let him know. He responded, we chatted, and accepted my invitation to connect. Mr. Eliason is now in my network, and I’m certain we’ll chat again in the future.
While this is only one minor example, I can’t count the number of times I’ve used LinkedIn to get out there, get noticed and meet people—and in some cases turn the initial online interaction into an offline one. LinkedIn breaks down the barriers, and has put me in front of people I might not yet have had the opportunity to meet. Try it out! 