Introducing "The S.T.A.N. Plan"

LinkedIN Listings

     There are over 175 Million professionals on LinkedIn. I have to admit that this is a network that I have largely ignored. When I joined it in July 2005 it was just beginning to become popular.  I am going to enjoy exploring this more.

What Is It?

     LinkedIn boasts itself as the World's Largest Professional Organization. This is 'probably' true since the connections there are usually business related. The ability to recommend and endorse others are a big part of this community.

What's That Do For You? 

    You can stay in touch with specific people.  You can simply deny connections when requested, and blocking is a breeze. This lets you stay focused on business rather than HotDog Worship. And because all users are associated with business categories, it's easy to find specific specialist. You can create a 'Company Discussion' area here if you'd like.  You can join other groups created for specific areas of interests.

Fine...What Else? 

     In the free version, you must be connected to another person 'in some way' to be able to contact them. However, LinkedIN offers a paid subscription that allows you to see who has been viewing your profile.  You can use this to find out 'why' they were looking. Were they trying to find someone with your expertise?  In addition the paid subscription adds these benefits:
  • Contact up to 10 people outside your network 
  • Expanded Profiles of anyone in your network
  • Better Search Filters to help you zero in on the right people.
  • Referrals - Get a list of people to refer someone you're interested in.
  • Inmail Messages - Send direct messages to anyone on LinkedIn
  • Open Link - Let anyone message you for free when you activate OpenLink
  • Profile Organizer - Save other users profiles and create folder to manage your pipeline

What About The Social Stuff?

    Although LinkedIN does do 'Social Activity", it is more business oriented than most networks.  You can post a picture of your cat, but you'll probably be dropped fairly quickly.  It's just not the thing to do here.  Most of the post here are going to be relative to business opportunities, products, and processes.  You're best to stay in that area with any post you might make here. 

Where Do I Go From Here? 

   You can join LinkedIN at http://www.linkedin.com.  You can connect to me here and you'll be able to read my articles concerning this here

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