WE spend so much effort and mind-share talking about Facebook that when it comes to social networking, it is certainly the current champ of social networking sites.
Twitter constantly pops up on our radar, often because it seems to be the place where public figures stub their toes, tweeting something entirely inappropriate, which is immediately gobbled up by the public at large.
For many of us though, it is LinkedIn that is the most profound of the social networking sites.
LinkedIn has been compared to Facebook for business, but I think that it really need not be compared to anything else. It is a force to be reckoned with in its own space and has become indispensable for many people, including myself.
LinkedIn, if you have yet to explore it, is a business social networking site. It is all about creating and managing business connections.
For most of us it is a service that keeps us abreast of our "network"; in this case, it is our network of contacts, colleagues and associates.
With more than 130 million users, LinkedIn has become the defacto contact centre for most knowledge workers.
Like Facebook, you add new contacts in LinkedIn through a permission-based interface. You are invited to add a contact, presumably someone you have worked with or know in some way. You can also invite strangers who have connections to your contacts, with the theory being if you know four of my contacts, perhaps we should know each other.
I use LinkedIn extensively as an introductory mechanism. I browse through a feature where LinkedIn suggests people I may know (due to common contacts) and look for interesting people. If I find someone with an interesting job title, or working for a company that makes some cool product or delivers an exciting service, I introduce myself and suggest a chat. I stay abreast of trends in the industry this way and constantly find interesting stories and guests for my show.
Many people do similar prospecting on LinkedIn, although one does need to be careful of being perceived as "selling," which really isn't too kosher on the site. But there is the attitude that we are there to do business, so the vibe is more of an industry wine and cheese event, rather than a sales seminar.
Another regular activity I do in Linkedin is just browse through my existing contacts, there are status updates, (similar to Facebook and Twitter) and your feeds from those sites can flow directly into LinkedIn if you set it up that way, but by perusing the actual profiles I often see where a contact has changed companies or jobs, often sparking a round of communications.
But for me the single biggest use of LinkedIn is preparation for meetings. Before I interview or meet with anyone, I now research them online, and the number one resource for that sort of background work is LinkedIn. Most people I am meeting with have done the exact same preparation for meeting me - a good reason to make sure your profile on LinkedIn is accurate, engaging and up to date.
If you are one of those who think Facebook is a bit trite, and not really compelling, LinkedIn may be worth a look. If you are in business, it is more than worth a shot, I think it is imperative that you get on board!
Steve Dotto is host of Dotto Tech, 6 p.m. Wednesdays on AM650. E-mail your questions and comments to questions@dottotech. com. Visit him online at www. dottotech.com or at www.facebook. com/dottotech.
