I joined linkedin about 6 month's ago through an unsolicited email from a DJ at a London radio station I have never heard of.
After letting it alone for four months I started looking for old friends. I didn't find any but who I did find were inspirational figure through my past career.
I have successfully contacted these heroes of mine and now they are mentoring me in my future.
However one of my heroes hardly use it at all.
What's your thoughts?
Mark
www.primanox.org
I guess it doesn't cost much (in terms of time) to set up a profile and make sure you are noticeable.
In terms of using it it's great if you are either looking for a job or looking for a candidate and, as you said, find people you have been working with.
In terms of social media as such..well I guess like the other media, you need to have the time to spend there, interact etc.
I like it. I've been able to network with industry people that I wouldn't have had the opportunity to do otherwise.
I think, like all social media, it is and can be a useful tool. But you can't wait for things to come to you, you also need to interact.
its all in the name - 'SOCIAL media', you need to get it there, have a look around and give it a go, it has plenty of features similar to the more popular networks like twitter and facebook, but this is a more professional tool - no holiday photos to dredge through!
i know it can be a bit annoying getting unsolicited messages from people at the best of times, be it tweet, spam or tagging notifications of you in the pub, and the fact that this network should, in theory, only be people within your industry, means that the chances are it will all be of use to you, or something which you can help with. once you know how it works, and im still learning, it becomes a good way of throwing your name out there to the people who matter in the trade.
thymeandplaice