LinkedIn For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Introduction

Relationships matter. Ever since the dawn of time, when Fred Flintstone asked Barney Rubble whether there was any work down at the quarry, human beings have always networked. We're social creatures who like to reach out and talk to someone. As the Internet developed and grew in popularity, people rapidly took advantage of this new technology for communication, with e-mail, instant messaging, personal Web pages sharing voice, video, and data with each other, and lots of other applications to keep everybody connected. But how can the Internet help you do a better job with your professional networking? I'm glad you asked. Welcome to LinkedIn For Dummies, Third Edition.

LinkedIn was founded in 2003 by a guy named Reid Hoffman, who felt that he could create a better way to handle your professional networking needs. He saw lots of Web sites that let you build your own page and show it to the world, extolling your virtues and talents. But a lot of the popular Web sites that Hoffman came across focused more on the social aspects of your life and not that much on the professional side. LinkedIn changed all that with its approach of augmenting all the professional networking you do (or should do) on a daily basis. You don't have to be looking for a job to use LinkedIn, but if you're looking, LinkedIn should be a part of your search. As Hoffman put it, LinkedIn was designed to “find and contact the people you need through the people you already trust.”

In short, LinkedIn allows ...