Usefulness of LinkedIn

LinkedIn in is a business-oriented network that contains networking and information gathering tools useful for new startups and longstanding businesses. I’ve haven’t really used LinkedIn all that much, but I did have a profile before this class – so I was familiar with it’s purpose. I created a profile when I started looking for jobs in the defense IT industry and it has proved to be useful. I’ve made connections with co-workers and friends and the website has even identified new connections on occasion. My mom has a physical therapy clinic and I suggested she create a profile for her and her business.

The site is great for…

1. Finding Answers. LinkedIn offers a feature called (LinkedIn Answers). It primary purpose is for users to ask questions of up to 200 of their immediate contacts. They get up to a period of seven days to gather answers to their question, then the user can rate the answers they received.

2. Showcase knowledge. The flipside of LinkedIn Answers is that users can respond to other people’s questions and get rated for the value of their answers. It’s good way to network with others while showing what they know.

3. Distribute polls. Users can create and send a poll to contacts for free and feature it on their profile page using the LinkedIn Polls application. This allows for quick and dirty market. There’s also an option that includes a fee starting at $50, where users can also send their poll to a targeted slice of the 75 million or so LinkedIn members.

4. Get (and give) recommendations. Users can strengthen their network and expand their presence on LinkedIn by giving kudos to other members through the LinkedIn Recommendations feature. Users can also solicit recommendations from colleagues and clients to add testimonials to their profile.

5. List the business. As mentioned earlier, LinkedIn members can list their company in the LinkedIn company directory for free. They can connect their profile and the profiles of their team members to the listing and provide news updates.  Other business professionals can then follow their business to get the latest updates.