Duct Tape Marketing - Latest Comments in Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

paulb — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:30:49 -0000

My experience with linkedin has been absolutely atrocious. It seemed like a great idea at the beginning. I've entered all my information and contacts. Eventually I forgot about the profile as it didn't seem to help me in any way. Later on I realized that I've entered some personal information and decided to delete it. However that proved to be a bit more difficult than I've anticipated. Profile deletion only took a few emails to the customer support. However my name with some information is still displayed in the linkedin's directory and is cached by all the major search engines. After three months of battling linkedin I feel like I'm running out of options. Any ideas on how I can remove the information. Right now I'm contemplating legal action.

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

dave — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 04:40:46 -0000

if u guys wanna see a really powerful business networking tool check out www.xing.com, the search functions are ridic, and the fact u can RSS feed about anything is slick too. enjoy!

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Anne H — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 15:02:06 -0000

Below is another slant on LinkedIn from Jeremy Shoemaker.

I think his post emphasizes that with all services, there are good users and bad users. It seems he encountered enough bad users to post about the experience.

I'm still not familiar with all the LinkedIn features, but I wonder if there isn't a mechanism to provide feedback when these type of scenarios occur. I didn't see that option, but this may be my ignorance.

http://www.shoemoney.com/20...

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Anne H — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 14:52:19 -0000

Just a follow up post to my earlier one on support. The email I sent to support on January 17th was responded to on Feb 1.

The tragedy is the info the support rep took the easy way out and didn't fully address my questions.

The info looked like it had been copied and pasted from a series of questions. There was no greeting or reason as to why it took 2 weeks to answer.

I hope the company will use the latest round of funding to build up support as it looks to me like a serious weak link in an otherwise good concept.

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Scott Allen — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 19:14:53 -0000

I think Anne's point is extremely well-taken. On the one hand, I think LinkedIn does a better job of most of doing some in-context help. On the other hand, that's very small-task-oriented, and using LinkedIn effectively is really a strategic thing.

I co-developed a course and offered it under their brand, promoted on their site, etc., a couple of years ago, and the response was good. But it was a pilot and for a whole variety of reasons, we never launched it full-scale. LinkedIn's position, which I understand, is that they want to have many people out there training on LinkedIn, writing books about LinkedIn, etc., rather than trying to manage all that in-house, or effectively giving a monopoly to one service provider.

Again, I understand that from their standpoint, but who really ends up suffering in the process is the new user.

There are PLENTY of resources, though, for those who choose to seek it out, which is why it always sort of amazes me when bloggers say they just don't get LinkedIn -- they obviously haven't really explored it or discussed it with people who know what they're doing with it.

There are several blogs that talk either extensively or exclusively about LinkedIn, and dozens of LinkedIn-related Yahoo Groups. The help is there for those who seek it -- it's just not as neatly packaged as it could be (yet!!!), and it's not being promoted to new LinkedIn users -- they have to seek it out.

I predict a lot of that to change in the next 6-12 months.

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Scott Allen — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 19:05:39 -0000

There are basically two types of LinkedIn users who can get value from it. The first is the active user, who makes a habit of searching and reaching out to people on a regular basis (for whatever it is they're looking for), participating in the Answers section by posting questions and answers, etc. Then there's the passive user who accepts introduction requests, forwards them for their connections, and only occasionally actually does a search in response to a specific need.

Both can derive value from LinkedIn. The former probably needs one of the premium accounts. The latter makes up 90-something percent of the network, and that can be accomplished with a free membership.

LinkedIn is one of the rare social networking applications I have seen that suits both types fairly well. I believe, in fact, that is precisely why it has attracted 10 million users -- because those of us who work 80 hours a week already and can only spend a couple of hours a week "networking" can still derive some value from it and be of service to our contacts without an implicit or explicit expectation of more participation.

But either type of user has to build their network in order to achieve that value. And I don't mean "build" in the sense of inviting strangers to connect -- I mean make an ongoing habit of identifying your connections within the system. Remember, 400,000 people a month are joining. It's ridiculous to think that all of your "real" contacts were members when you joined however many months ago, or to put the burden on them to find and invite you. At least monthly, you should be doing an update process to make sure you are maximizing your connectedness in the network.

Once you've done that, how you use it to help your business depends entirely on what your needs are. I wish I could say more on this here, but there is SO much to say in that regard. For now, I just refer you to the Using LinkedIn category (http://linkedintelligence.c... on my blog for ongoing postings about ideas in that regard. Watch for more upcoming (podcast with John next week).

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Jennifer Lambert — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 14:03:09 -0000

I would use the old saying, "You get out what you put in." I would've agreed with some of the negative comments made a couple of months ago when I was waiting for others to initiate contact with me. Now that I've turned my approach around and initiated contact with potential buisiness partners, I'm experiencing better results.

I also wouldn't ignore those who have few contacts. It may be that the person is selective in who he/she will recommend, not that the person is less valuable than those with 500+ contacts.

Oh, and LinkedIn is good for seeing what kind of competition you're up against out there.

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Duct Tape Marketing Blog - Vot — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 08:01:16 -0000

<pingback>...ago I asked readers to tell me how and why they used LinkedIn. The response was awesome. Here's the original post and comments
The conversation fell out somewhat as I anticipated. Many people just didn't seem to get much out of it. Successful users ...</pingback>

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Dan York — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 10:55:53 -0000

John,

I've been using LinkedIn for several years now and the number one reason I use it is to keep up with where former colleagues are. Working in high tech, people tend to move around a bit and **assuming they update their info**, LinkedIn provides a great way to get the best and current way to contact them.

Yes, if they have blogs or personal web sites, I can also find them there - but not all contacts have those. (Nor do I always know where their most current blog or website is.) Google searches are useful, but anyone who has been online for a while accumulates all sorts of pages that may or may not have the correct contact info. For me, LinkedIn has served this purpose as a current directory wonderfully - again, assuming my contacts update it with their info. Most of mine actually do, so it has generally worked for me.

I've not personally used the site to find contacts for business deals, etc., as my work right now doesn't really require that. However, I know people who have used it to find interview guests for podcasts and partners for writing opportunities, so I see the potential there.

Thanks for asking the question and generating this great stream of comments.

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Matthew — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 23:41:27 -0000

The LinkedIn toolbar for Outlook is one of the more useful features for me. It keeps my contacts up to date (if the contact is also in LinkedIn) and is less annoying than Plaxo. Also, I can set reminders to contact people after a set number of days and it tracks e-mail that needs a response or follow-up from me. All very helpful for me.

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Anne H — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 22:42:53 -0000

There is also an interesting podcast with Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn on Venture Voice. It's about 45 minutes long. You can see the notes at the link below.

http://www.venturevoice.com...

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

David Merwin — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:28:58 -0000

I have had great success with LinkedIn. With the new Answers feature I am able to ask a question and get feedback directly from the network. It' pretty sweet.

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Jas — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 23:21:58 -0000

LinkedIn is almost like facebook for adult/professionals except with all the fun sucked out of it. It's a good idea I guess.. Its a little scary since it shows up when you google yourself.. More security on it would be nice, also room for a little more creativity on the part of the user would be nice as well. However, just because of this post I will be withdrawing myself from LinkedIn.. :-D

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Anne H — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 17:49:44 -0000

[John...thanks for bumping up the size.]

I don't know how many invitations I've received from LinkedIn over the years. Each time, I've asked the sender why they like the service and what was the value. No replies until two weeks ago. Nick Wilson gave a good enough reply that I told him I would give it a whirl. I was also interested in the new Answers service.

I've been using it a week and have come to the opinion it can be a good and valuable tool provided you know how to use the system and spend time with it. Two big "if"s.

The immediate problem I see is the site gives little guidance to the new user. They should provide a series of tutorials or demos to guide people along. Otherwise, new users end up clicking items in the wrong order and questioning why they have to upgrade their account.

There is a Customer Service/FAQ link way down at the bottom that shows 10 questions. It also is in a box that looks like it might be for sponsored listings. Since I couldn't find the online help I was looking for, I sent an inquiry to the company. It's been a week and no reply.

There is a section called Answers which does have a category for "LinkedIn" where I could post a question. I didn't see any area where I could search through existing questions so I didn't have to scroll the lists. Maybe that feature is there, but I couldn't find it.

I did reply to one person's question on web hosting and my answer got voted "best answer". The poster sent a "thanks" which arrived in my email. Interestingly, the sender's address is a no-reply one for LinkedIn so my reply got bounced back to me.

I do like the concept and the information you see. I find it valuable to connections, but it's not always a true representation of the member's activity.

I sent a number of emails to people that I thought used the system based on the number of connections they showed. More often than not, these people accepted invitations, but didn't use the system.

I think for these systems to work, they need to be drop dead simple so that anyone can use them. I don't think LinkedIn succeeds in that area. Once you log in, there are too many choices for the user. I think a similar problem exists for a prospect as I don't think the home page adequately defines what benefits I might receive.

I realize that these systems do require me to "work" to get value, but the design and lack of support add an extra layer that may keep me away. If I stay, it will probably be for the "Answers" area.

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Fern — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 17:05:43 -0000

Ben - thanks for the GREAT tip. I do sales for one of my clients and that often happens with the people we were working with (my client is a copywriter and we work with corportate marketig managers). Thank you!

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Ben Chestnut — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 19:24:51 -0000

I've had two cases where I was working with a prospect on a business deal, then the prospect disappeared off the face of the earth (they quit, got laid off, moved, etc). Used LinkedIn to find them again at their new place of employment, and then find out who took their place so I can get my conversations going again. Ultimately, no success yet. I'm still in talks. But it was useful for tracking down leads that went cold.

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Mark Harrison — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 11:16:08 -0000

LinkedIn has weathered internet-time very well, which is very positive. I've noticed more people using it recently than in the past. I look at it as a supplement to personal relationships.

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Ravi — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 01:09:35 -0000

I've recently started using LinkedIn but find it rather cumbersome to use. I've been able to reach out to some old friends, but beyond that, not sure what to do on the site. I agree with one of the comments above, to start contacting a friend of a friend feels a lot like cold calling, without the immediate hang up

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Des Walsh — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 00:31:01 -0000

Denise
It's a shame you have not had a better response from people. I can assure you there are some quite active people on LinkedIn who are keen to help others use it well. For example the amazing Liz Ryan of WorldWIT - Women in Business and Technology. www.worldwit.org. And one of the best, well managed, discussion groups on LinkedIn to join is LinkedInnovators http://finance.groups.yahoo.... Of course I can't promise there aren't some idiots there, but the discussions are civilized and mutually helpful.
I hope that helps.

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Des Walsh — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 00:02:06 -0000

Fern and John
I don't have magic answers. What has worked for me is that through LinkedIn I have been able to connect with and be available to, a lot of very smart, very accomplished people of various ages and nationalities. And through the wider network which that has helped me build and the discussion groups, mainly on Yahoo, which I belong to, business offers have come to me and I've been able, as in the example above, to connect other people with one another.

Having your profile up to date is important. A lot of people neglect to update their profile and I've often been surprised to find that people who I know have great skills have joined LinkedIn but put no effort into their profile as a selling document. And it's really easy to get someone who knows you and your business to click on your profile and give you some feedback. The other day I helped a colleague re-write his profile to highlight his amazing skill set which he had not outlined so clearly.

Happy to be interviewed, John.

In the meantime, I recommend Scott Allen's excellent LinkedIntelligence blog for clues on using LinkedIn well - I doubt anyone knows LinkedIn, warts and all, better, and Scott is a great sharer. www.linkedintelligence.com

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Chris Owen — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 22:35:48 -0000

Who needs linkedIn when you can get this many commenters on a blog?
LinkedIn I'm on there but I see no benefit to it. It doesn't do the kind of relationship building that I prefer. Conversations and real, albeit slow, credibility growth

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Denise — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 13:58:29 -0000

I've used LinkedIn. It's not very exciting. There's nothing that really grabs my attention. I am looking to expand my network in Product Promotions and I found One Model Place and Myspace to be more useful than LinkedIn! Isn't that something? I go to LinkedIn and the people I try to connect with, I get "you aren't in my league" or some other rediculous thing. No one is willing to help out a young person trying to succeed on that site.

The question and answer section is boring and useless to me. I would rather use Marketingprofs.com forums for that stuff...at least they give you an incentive of gaining "points" for posting answers! Seems like LinkedIn is the same group of people who are just like me trying to make a big break into the industry...and when there's no real big guys, except for the cocky ones, in there, where does that lead us? A big road to no where.

All in all, I find it useless and another way for people to stalk me. =P

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Christina — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 11:00:58 -0000

I am a “NOT” person when it comes to LinkedIn. In my humble opinion it’s quickly become the “MySpace” for the work environment, while perhaps not as “racy”. First of all as far as the invitation to “link in”, seems more of an “endorse me and I’ll endorse you mentality”. Which brings to question the validity of the endorsements in general (I’ve heard the same sentiment from HR on this). I know a good dozen or so folks that jumped in on this band wagon – incidentally most of them have changed jobs over the last 2 years and not one of them has been able to report back that their “LinkedIn” compadres’ were of any assistance in making the connections, etc. However, that being said there is obviously positive feedback being posted here and what I’m getting a sense of is it’s how you use it. Optimizing it’s strengths and truly utilizing the connections. Funny, it sounds like LinkedIn maybe successful despite itself. Being that I’ve heard this debate in many professional circles though tells me that LinkedIn” obviously isn’t doing a great job of Marketing themselves and clearly defining for it’s purpose for “customers”. Imagine how successful they might become if they did.

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

ducttape — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 10:57:22 -0000

Des,

I think you've been nominated to tell more. In fact, maybe I should set up an interview so we can talk this through!

Re: Let's Talk About LinkedIn

Fern — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 10:40:15 -0000

Des: How in the heck is that happening for you? How do you "use" LinkedIn? I think that's what is the mystery... THanks for any advice you can share.