Believe it or not, there are some things you should and should not do on the Internet. There are certain unwritten rules that Internet users are expected to follow and, in some cases, these rules are actually clearly visible, like with LinkedIn. Still, countless users stray from these rules, using LinkedIn in ways that run counter to its intent.
This was the topic of the Information Week article, “Why Soliciting LinkedIn Endorsements Is A Bad Idea.” LinkedIn users are straying away from the sites original, intended use: to better connect people with the co-workers, peers, business associates, and clients that they ALREADY know. Instead, users are blindly connecting with contacts they do not personally know and they are endorsing skills that they have no intimate knowledge about.
Doesn’t this defeat the purpose of LinkedIn? Working Nets own David Spigelman weighs in on the subject.
“I’m in total agreement with this,” said David. “I’ve also noticed that most people use LinkedIn in ways that run counter to its intent.”
“You meet people at a networking meeting, and are expected to connect via LinkedIn. But why? I don’t really know you. I don’t know whether you’re good at your job. Endorsements are intended to be your stamps of approval on the other person’s professionalism. If I say that you are a good engineer, and I only know you because we play basketball together, how valuable is that endorsement?”
“And then you want me to introduce you to my other connections. On what basis do I make that connection? Or maybe you just want to connect to me directly, with no other connection. Who ARE you? How am I supposed to be able to connect you to others when I know NOTHING about you at all?”
How do you use LinkedIn?
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Sources:
- Why Soliciting LinkedIn Endorsements Is A Bad Idea Information Week
