CHAPTER 10 Lock in LinkedIn: a new, global business lunch
As in real life, so online. You used to make connections, share expertise and get recommendations by networking. Now you connect globally through LinkedIn. It’s a new, global business lunch.
LinkedIn is like a business networking event: it’s where you go to make mutually beneficial connections, share expertise and get recommendations on anything from suppliers to future talent. But signing up for LinkedIn and then not doing anything once you’re there is like going to a business lunch and standing in the corner.
LinkedIn was launched in 2003 and is the thirty-sixth most visited website in the world. It’s a publicly listed company with more than 259 million users from over 200 countries and is available in 20 languages. There are other professional social networks, such as Viadeo (50 million) and XING (10 million). LinkedIn penetrates around 30 per cent of the population of the US, Canada, the UK and Australia.
LinkedIn allows users to connect with each other through ‘gated access’. You’ve got to know someone who knows someone. If you invite too many people who label an invite ‘I don’t know’ or ‘spam’, you will be given a warning or have your account suspended or closed. So send an introductory message when you ...
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