LinkedIn? Do you guys use that site?

[FMiguelez]

I've been getting tons of email notifications from people I know to join Linkedin. I had no idea what it is, so I checked it out. It seems ok, but what is its point? Is it like another Facebook thing, or is it worth joining? Seems like some kind of networking thing?

I did a quick profile, but backed out because in one of the steps the site wants to grab my personal contacts from my address book and I'm afraid it will spam them all if I accept... Is that how and why I've been getting all those email notifications from people?
Also, I keep personal notes on most of my contacts, and I wouldn't want those out of my computer for obvious privacy reasons.

If I accept, then what? Will even my florist or mechanic get invitations from me to join the site???

So, do you guys use it? What for? Is it safe?

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I've have had a linked in acct for years but never used it for personal reasons. Finding colleagues for work related stuff has been good there. Not for finding work, but connecting with people about work I'm already doing or issues about certain aspects of a project I might have questions about, etc.

I like it because some of those people I don't necessarily want to have on my social media accts like Facebook. Everyone I'm connected to on Linked In is a professional acquaintance - no family or friends and no "discussions" to distract the directness when you need it.

I suppose I could use it to try and find work if I wasn't so damn lazy...

[cuttime]

I hate LinkedIn. It is the most invasive, privacy sucking creepsite I have ever seen. I signed up for an account and the first things that popped up were a bunch of high school and college girlfriends, and then my wife. The rest were people I already work with who are not going to be of any professional help anyway, and would probably take offense if I was looking for employment elsewhere. Some people seem to think they are going to get great job offers from having myriads of endorsements (think "Likes"), but in reality, people can claim anything in a resume or CV on the internet and the best one could possibly hope for is a "please come by and fill out an application". I've been "LInkedIn" to people who are not remotely qualified for the claims they make, which border on outright lies. That said (I hate that phrase), the site is a de facto standard for many HR departments in the US with lazy managers who are unwilling to do the legwork in a tight job market to find qualified employees. I better quit now before venturing into "politics".

Also, be prepared for a flood of spam.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Agreed. It is NOT a place you will find work. I have a somewhat more positive view of it, but overall I'd say it sucks for the most part. I have, however, used it more than once to find colleague who I've lost touch with and couldn't find otherwise. Beyond that, a total waste of time.

[mikehalloran]

I hate LinkedIn. It is the most invasive, privacy sucking creepsite I have ever seen

"And then there's the down side."

Yea, I'm on it. I don't care for it much but sometimes I'll find something useful.

A lot of prospective employers will check your profile before they consider hiring you. Not an issue with me (I hope).

[BKK-OZ]

I hate LinkedIn....
...Some people seem to think they are going to get great job offers from having myriads of endorsements (think "Likes"), but in reality, people can claim anything in a resume or CV on the internet and the best one could possibly hope for is a "please come by and fill out an application"...

While I agree in large part with what you say, it is worth remembering that the trustworthiness of any referral is not contingent on the platform that it comes through, it depends on how much trust you place in the person making the reference.

I use Linkedin for my day job, and the fact that a lot of very senior, highly-regarded people therein have said I know what I am doing is no small thing. If it was just a bunch of random 'likes', sure, it would be worthless, but, at least in my case, if respectable people say that they respect you, those are good and valid endorsements.

[FMiguelez]

I hate LinkedIn. It is the most invasive, privacy sucking creepsite I have ever seen.

That's what I'm afraid of. It REALLY gave me a very bad impression when the site asked me to access my address book... Why? What the hell for? I mean, I have hundreds of contacts in there...

Anyway, I created my profile, but found a way to prevent the site from touching my address book contacts. I don't want it anywhere near them!

Let's see if Linkedin doesn't annoy me too much (like Facebook does).

A couple of lost Berklee friends already found me

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Don't let any site access your address book. Not if you want to keep those friends as friends.

[Shooshie]

I get asked to join Linked In all the time, and always from someone I know from this forum or another one. Must be that "access your address book" thing.

Shoosh

[MIDI Life Crisis]

No me!

[FMiguelez]

Don't let any site access your address book. Not if you want to keep those friends as friends.

Agreed.
I'd never let that happen.

You're in there, BTW. I'll make an exception and send them only your info (just kidding!)

I get asked to join Linked In all the time, and always from someone I know from this forum or another one. Must be that "access your address book" thing.

I must be that, Shoosh. That's the only way I can explain how I keep getting notification after notification from people I know. They must've given up their contact books. The bastards!

My laptop died recently. When I transferred all my office files to another computer via Migration Assistant, for some reason it didn't transfer some of my Mail rules correctly. I had made a rule that anything from Linkedin and Facebook went straight to the Trash. So that's why I started getting those notifications to join again... I'll recreate the rule once more in this computer

[MIDI Life Crisis]

You're in there, BTW. I'll make an exception and send them only your info (just kidding!)

They already have it!

[Shooshie]

You're kidding! It's still there?

Somehow they got me in; I never quite figured out how. I think 2damhip wrote something to me via LinkedIn, and I answered it. In order to answer it, I had to enter some info; I didn't think much of it at the time. I wonder if they got my address book? Geez!

Anyway, I was getting a ton of spam from them, so I went to their site and tried to delete any information they had about me. I found that it was next-to-impossible. I finally found a link that claimed it would delete my "account" (which I never asked for), but only if I did certain things exactly the way they said to do them. I had to take notes. It was that difficult. But finally, I broke free, and I thought I was out.

But if you're saying that I'm still in there, it means that about 2 hours of effort trying to get myself deleted ended up with them thumbing their nose at me and yelling "SUCKAHHHHH."

I think there should be some kind of legal recourse against these companies that basically hijack you and won't let you out. LinkedIn is one of the worst.

Shooshie

[cuttime]

I think there should be some kind of legal recourse against these companies that basically hijack you and won't let you out. LinkedIn is one of the worst.

Shooshie

word... Wait 'til they start trying to charge you for finding out who viewed your profile.

[James Steele]

I have a linked in profile, but I use it strictly for professional contacts and people I've worked with or met personally. I have a bunch of people that are Facebook friends that approach LinkedIn as if it's just another "social network" but I don't accept those requests.

As far as premium memberships and all that... not so much. I'm already getting irate at how much "gate keeping" Facebook now does between you and people who like your page, etc. or your FB friends. For example, I created a Facebook event for a radio interview coming up this Saturday and discovered Facebook no longer allows me to invite ALL my FB friends. Only an indeterminate number based on some formula. So rather than be able to invite all 4998 of my FB friends to the FB event (which heretofore had been the best way to promote an event and get the word out), Facebook allowed me to invite about 1,400. So now, I have about 200+ people confirmed as "going" to the event (aka tuning in to the interview) whereas, simple math would suggest that number SHOULD be closer to 700. Thanks, Zuckerberg.