Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Whom Do You Network With on LinkedIn?

If you are active on the professional networking site LinkedIn, I have a question for you.

Whom do you connect with on Linked In?

The reason I'm asking is because my understanding of LinkedIn is it's a network primarily aimed at highlighting your professional experience and abilities. By that understanding, the people I connect with on there should be folks who know me well enough personally to be able to speak to my character and/or ability to execute my professional duties.

Recently, I've started getting requests to connect from people whom I recognize from Twitter but with whom I have never had interaction on a level which makes me feel I truly "know" them, nor do I feel they "know" me well enough to speak to my character or job abilities. If I were asked to recommend them for a job, I would not feel comfortable doing so, nor would I ask for a recommendation from them.

I have some exceptions to my personal rule for whom to connect with. I am connected on LinkedIn with a few folks whom I haven't seen in person in years, even going back to college. So if asked about them, I would have to speak to what I knew of them several years ago. But at least there was an in-person connection at one time.

Am I looking at LinkedIn too narrowly? Or am I being true to its original intent?

Whom do you connect with on LinkedIn, and why? I would really appreciate your thoughts. Thanks in advance!