With the most elite network – connected through business relationships – linked in has incredible potential. That potential has drifted somewhat recently as the competition (namely Facebook) moved well ahead.
Well – finally a redesign, and a move to some web 2.0 slickness, making, for example, it much easier to upload a profile photo.
But without opening their API up to everyone, what else can they offer?
Well – they are using the power of those connections. Check out my Linked In home page:
Yup – I can see what other people connected to McKinsey are reading. (no word on my other connected companies)
Amazon tried this a few years back, in about 2000/2001, but they sadly stopped pretty quickly after privacy concerns were raised.
Now I’m guessing that Linked in will only know about my preferences if I actually click on a Linked In news link. Or perhaps they are aggregating our reading preferences from elsewhere?
That would be cool. Scary but cool. They have set themselves up well for a purchase by Google though.
So – has Linked in given reason to go there more than once per month? Time will tell, but for now – no.
Lance Wiggs 
Hi Lance,
Linked in is an interesting case. It appears to have significant potential, meaningful connections in an environment where networking offers real opportunities to create value. The question remains is it being being used and is it delivering to it’s full potential? I have a Linked in account but it is rather dormant. I have not been pro-active in building my network and the majority of my professional experience has been in NZ (i.e. I have a limited global network). I would start with my email contact list before my linked in account (my linked in contacts are a subset of my email contacts) if I was pursuing an opportunity. I recognise the benefit of Linked in’s connection functionality but it is limited the size of your network relative to your email contact list. Given the time you have spent studying and working in the States and your subsequent consulting work you would seem a prime candidate to utilise linked in’s platform. Does linked in form a material part of your professional life? If not can you see that changing in the future?
Sam
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Hi Sam
a great comment. I was going to answer in the negative, but the very next day I received a potentially interesting email, so I’ve changed my mind.
so my latest feeling now is that Linked In isn’t about constant comms – but the occasional yet meaningful connection. It’s about finding someone that you trust that can give solid advice.
I too start with my own close friends & colleagues, and then older email addresses when seeking help. However what Linked In adds is the current resume/cv of the person in question – and that can be very interesting.
The question is whether Linked in is good at making existing networks stronger, extending networks or both. To me the first is a yes, the and the second is a maybe.
But, as our recent search for a CTO at Lingopal showed, the informal person to person network is still the best. There is a good reason why headhunters exist.
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