On the Charlie Rose Show, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman said that in the future, there will really be only three major social networks: Twitter would be more of a social media than a social network, MySpace would be for artistic social networking, and Facebook would be more for family and friends. LinkedIn, however, would be known as the “Business Social Network” is the least well known of the major social networks. LinkedIn essentially allows you to connect to business contacts in a totally professional context.
By creating a public, professional profile on LinkedIn, you are able to display your professional skills and specialties on the web. You can share your resume, presentations, blogs, and really spread the word about what you and your company do and what you are capable of.
The most advantageous aspect of LinkedIn is using not your contacts, but your contacts’ contacts with the goal of solving a business problem. LinkedIn allows you to find your contacts—friends, colleagues, business associates, and family, just like on Facebook. The benefit of LinkedIn, however, is you see their connections and their skill set, which can help branch your own professional network, along with discovering if one of their connections may fill a particular business need of yours. This benefit is best described by viewing this video.
You can join LinkedIn by clicking here, and follow the ValpoLife LinkedIn Group by clicking here.