Saturday, September 26, 2009
Pam Keller and Alex DiPasquale are doing LinkedIn as our social media project
One of our classmates called LinkedIn an 'old peoples' website – ironically I looked in the mirror and found that I AM an old people; so this is a good fit. I have had a LinkedIn account for a year or two but never used it. People would send me requests to link in and I’d move them over to the ‘to do’ list where I would respond right before I responded to the African prince who needs to wire me $19,000,000USD. I have wanted to learn to use LinkedIn for the past few months but procrastinated because then I’d have to update my resume, then I’d have to remember my password, then I’d have to [you can fill in the blank]. It turns out that a class project/academic grade is the motivator that got me LinkedIn and now I want to share my story with you. I spent a few hours last Saturday getting my password, updating my resume, and feeling my way around LinkedIn. My goal is to become proficient in LinkedIn, join two groups, find discussions to which I can post, make business connections, mentor others in Linked In, and have fun! Oh…and find a way to monetize LinkedIn, other than when looking for a job. I will post some of my experiences and the final summation throughout this blog.
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Okay, so my 1st experience is with an old friend Tom. Tom and I worked together form 1987 to around 1994 and lost touch. I saw that he was on linkedin and emailed him; at the time he had one contact. Linkedin has a form letter type email. Rather than using the form letter I took a few minutes to personalize my email, including my home phone number. A few days later he called. We talked for over an hour (unprecedented for me). After catching up he said that he was between jobs and going for an interview the next day. A few days later I got an email asking how to update a profile, then how to join a group. It felt good to reconnect with an old friend, reignite a business contact and to mentor someone on what I think is a great business tool. As of yesterday Tom is up to 9 contacts and I guess, if I am ever in East Grenwich RI I'll have a place to stay.
ReplyDeleteAdding to comments made by Alex. I have focused on adding groups to through LinkedIn. These have been industry related for me (New Home Sales and Marketing). I have been surprised at the reach so far. I have reconnected with many friends and colleagues that have move around over the past few years. Additionally, I have found information and ideas that they are using to be useful to me and my company.
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking about how LinkedIn can be useful to students aside from seaking a job and posting a resume. It would seem that you could join groups in the field/area of your interest. Sharing some of the knowledge you are learning in school would be valuable to a group and might connect you to a future employer. A less intrusive way to get connected. Let me know if you have tried this.
ReplyDeleteLast post today..had to share that I just LinkIn with a marketing colleague that moved to Australia. I am on at 6:00 in the morning playing catch up...it was a surprise to find her. Now I'll learn what the Aussies are up to!
ReplyDeleteFun!
Connecting with your friend in Australia is interesting. I've never really thought of LinkedIn in an interational way. I have to ponder that...
ReplyDeleteGood article to read on reasons to used LinkedIn or Facebook. Consider what is appropriate for each. I concur with this article. However, if you set up a Facebook page for a business, then it would be different. This is not addressed in the article.
ReplyDeletehttp://nextmark.typepad.com/blog/2008/09/linkedin-vs-fac.html
When Patrick Bultema spoke to the class he said that a web address has more impact than other channels. He also noted that when we use a social media site we create online personalities. These personalities are the things that others see and use to form opinions about us. I am on LinkedIn to find people and to be found. I’ll call my LinkedIn personality my ‘brand’. When I am found by a business associate or potential employer I want them to form a certain opinion of me. Accordingly, I posted a picture of me wearing a button down and a sports coat. While shorts and a tee shirt fit my personal life, they are not representative of my professional life; neither is a business suit.
ReplyDeleteI joined six groups but only display three of them on my profile. I display Phi Theta Kappa, which is an academic honor society of which I am a member. I display Network with Gators because I started my undergrad at UF and if I ever decide to move back to Florida I will have a network of working Floridians and I display Insurance Marketing Professionals because I create software for insurance companies.
There is an option to display books that I have recently read but I think that’s a bit much I’ve seen other peoples LinkedIn sites and some of the books that they read. AllI can say is – TMI – some things are better left unsaid!
I have my entire resume posted on my site but am reconsidering just what to show. Initially I thought the more detail the better but now I am thinking maybe just job titles and a short narrative. Does anybody have an opinion?
The image I want to associate with my brand is professional, casual, smart, and involved.
Here is my LinkedIn web address http://www.linkedin.com/pub/alex-dipasquale/a/954/a29 Let me know what you think.