Linked In Or Out?

Mr_Whoopass writes "I am the IT Administrator for a regional restaurant chain, and as of late I am noticing more and more people sending me invitations to sites like LinkedIn, FaceBook, etc. Mother always taught me to be a skeptic, and, knowing more than the average Joe about how information can be used in this digital era, I am reticent to say the least about posting such personal details as my full name and where I work on the net for all to see. I have thus far managed to stay completely below the radar, and a search on Google has nothing on my real persona. However, now times are tough, and I see sales dropping in the industry I work in as it is a discretionary spending market to be sure. I wonder if I should loosen up on the paranoia a bit and start networking with some of these folks in case of the all too common layoff scenario that seems to be happening lately. What do other folks here think about this? I am specifically interested in what people who work in IT think (since I know that just about every moron who has 'Vice President' or sits on the 'Executive Team' is already on LinkedIn and has no clue about why they should be trying to protect their identity)."

Comments

no offense..

[Anonymous Coward]

...but I am surprised you are an IT admin and unaware of how both social and professional networking websites actually work. About the only thing strangers can see is your name.

Why are you afraid to put honest professional information out there? Nothing says you have to post everything about you. My profiles on social websites is very controlled and only portrays what I want. The basic rule, for me, is to keep my professional and business aspects of my life separate.

Lastly, I use my name for professional networking and a variation of my name for social. So, if a potential client e-stalks me with "Ruthered B. Hayes" they will never get the social sites I have under "R. Brenticus Hayes"

Bottom line, you control your image, be careful with it, but do not be afraid.

Re:First questions first

[dna_(c)(tm)(r)]

What's your real name allready?

What is your quest?

Blue! Arrrrrggg....

Business cards

[Mr_Silver]

I use LinkedIn in the same way that I would keep a business card that someone gives me. However, the advantages of LinkedIn are:

1. When they move company, their details are automatically updated and I don't lose contact. I've got a load of business cards which I have no quick way of verifying if they're still accurate.
2. I can export my contacts into a format which Outlook will happily read. Not a chance with Facebook.
3. LinkedIn is geared around working connections, so you don't get all the fluff that you'd get with Facebook. This allows me to keep working contacts and friends separate.
4. I can see how people are related to people I know - which is useful when I'd like to get some references from people I trust.
5. It shows employees that when I say I have links to certain people in companies, I'm actually being truthful.
6. It allows me to have a "way in" to a company as someone working there invariably used to work with someone else I know. I found a great software development team through a colleague of a colleague.
7. It allows me to find people for specific requests easier. Someone I know wanted to talk to someone at Apple about iSync support for a device, LinkedIn provided him with the Product Managers name and a person they both knew.
8. They have quite a good jobs selection which, whilst small, is generally more targeted to the roles you're interested in doing.
9. It's great for being head-hunted or job hunting as a whole as recruiters can access your details (provided you let them) and offer you possible opportunities.

There are probably more. If I was forced to drop Facebook or LinkedIn, I'd drop Facebook as LinkedIn is significantly more useful to me.

Re:You can't win if you don't play

[Anonymous Brave Guy]

I think there are some fundamental differences between LinkedIn and the likes of Facebook, which is why I'm happy to be listed on the one but not the others.

In particular, LinkedIn has access only to professional information about me that I would typically share with a prospective client/employer anyway, and it only collects that information from me personally apart from the basic networking information that is the whole point (and is only collected/reliable with my confirmation anyway).

Facebook, in sharp contrast, got almost no information from me personally when I briefly signed up, yet practically had my whole life story within a couple of days because their entire MO is to get friends to volunteer information about each other. Moreover, the information that Facebook attempts to collect is often very personal and certainly not the sort of thing I would voluntarily share on-line.

Re:First questions first

[sukotto]

Well, the European Swallow flies an average of 11 meters per second so that's half the answer there.

For some great analysis on the topic, read this: http://www.style.org/unladenswallow/