Social Networking is all about connecting People, not linking dumb Data Records…
I’m a fan and early user of LinkedIn, and am really happy with the recent enhancements, including a public web profile and a badge: .
However, I’ve recently spent ho…

And getting endorsements from former clients is always a good idea . . .

Having my network on LinkedIn, I find it now much more comfortable asking for referrals from former clients/co-workers since I don’t have to ask them “do you someone who does/is X?” and make them do the work of thinking who they know and then relying on them to remember and throw out names of relevant people. I can now search, pick a person and ask to be referred. And if they liked my work, it’s so easy for them to make the referral, they will rarely refuse. And if they refuse, it will be most likely that there really wouldn’t be a good fit.

Another generic utility is to look up people by name. For example, I learned that you and I are both linked to Ismael Chang Ghalimi. So as long as you keep your connections to people you know, this is pretty useful information and makes it much more fun to participate in the conversation. And everyone can see who I am and if we have common connections since the link to my comment goes to my public LinkedIn profile.

BTW, making sure relationship information is relevant is another reason to keep connections to people you know . . .

I use Plaxo to synchronise calendar and contacts between PCs over the web, and Linkedin for professional networking. Both have been criticised in the past for their ‘aggressive’ updating reminders and potential spamming – but having managed to avoid that trap, I have found them both useful. While I haven’t yet gained any direct benefit from Linkedin membership, I’m pretty happy with the network so far. As Dave Tebbut said in the referenced post – it’s only useful when you need it!

Now all I need to do is go off and make a compelling LinkedIn profile page!!!

I’ve been freelancing for just under two years and I’ve managed to find work on at least two occasions through LinkedIn – including the biggest contract I’ve ever signed – as well as being able to pass on a bit of work to other people I know too.

I’ve noticed a tendency among some people to simply accumalate as many contacts as they can – my network is bigger than your network! – but provided you feel you have a real connection with the people you are linked to, and you trust their judgement when it comes to recommending others, then I am certain that LinkedIn and other services like it (OpenBC is very big in the German-speaking world, for instance) are of real value.