I have had a LinkedIn profile for many years now, and I consider this to be my preferred method of “social networking”. It was through LinkedIn that I ended up in my current job, and it has provided me with several professional opportunities over the years. I keep it updated, and have used it to reconnect with people I otherwise might have lost touch with.
I also created a Naymz page at the request of a friend, but I don’t use it much – except when I recieve notifications that someone has visited my profile (which has happend surprisingly often). It is kind of fun to see how people come across my name – Naymz has a feature where they will show the google search that brought people to my page. Usually, they are searching for someone that I am connected to, and end up looking at my profile.
For many years my kids have had Facebook and MySpace pages, and because of my interest in Family Safety, I took my own advice and created pages on those sites just so I could “connect” with my children and keep an eye on what they are posting – I never actually intended to make use of those networks.
So, you can imagine my surprise when I recieved a “friend request” from a professional acquiantance on Facebook. As I started looking into it, I realized that there are plenty of adults using Facebook to connect professionally. Color me surprised. I actually started receiving friend requests from people I have worked with in the past, and whom I respect professionally. Most of these people are already connected to me on LinkedIn, but it appears as though they are much more actively participating in Facebook – updating their “wall”, posting comments about what they are working on, etc.
This has me thinking – how many social networking pages does one need in order to be plugged in today? There are features of each site that I like – but in the end, it isn’t really about what I like – it is about how people can find me and connect with me, how they can share professional opportunities with me, and how those with similar interests can get in touch with me. I used to think that a LinkedIn account was enough – but I am now reconsidering that.
Maybe it is time for me to start looking at twitter…
I’ve in the same situation. I’ve primarily been using LinkedIn but have jumped on to Facebook and Twitter during the past 2 weeks. They all have their place and all are great. The downside is keeping up with all this connectivity. There’s a lot going on and it can be a real time commitment. I hope I can keep it up but time will tell.