LinkedIn: The Upside and Downside of the Following People Function
Today I did a webinar on LinkedIn for Social Media Tools Week (sponsored by the Social Media Academy). I tried to make it a very how-to type of webinar. The main emphasis was on making connections with people you know and how to use those connections to effectively get to people you would like to know.
Presentation – LinkedIn: Active Business Networking Tool
I touched on the value of groups – getting involved in industry and other networking groups as well as setting up a your own group. I touched briefly on a new feature within the Groups section on LinkedIn called “People I am following”. With this feature, you are automatically set to follow your 1st degree connections with whom you share a group membership.
On LinkedIn, “Following” means that – within the group – you will see discussion comments by those people displayed on the right side of your screen. This allows you to easily see what those connections are talking about and let you join in on their conversations. You can even select people that are in the group – with whom you have no prior connection – and follow them in the same manner. This can definitely enhance your ability to get to know people within a group that are of special interest to you. This is the UPSIDE.
Now for the DOWNSIDE. LinkedIn also lists any Status Updates from these group members you are following and provides a “Start discussion” link. Somehow this seems little aggressive to me. To jump on a comment about a book that someone recommends in passing and turn it into a discussion is – more than likely – bringing much more attention to the comment that that person intended. It reminds me of the time – when I was 15 years old – and a young man gave me a bracelet on our second date. Tommy M., if you are reading this and wonder why I didn’t go out with you again, it was too much too soon.
