Posted on 01/12/2009 1:36:13 AM PST by indcons
When my 81-year-old dad sent me a LinkedIn invitation, I knew some milestone had been passed.
It's an online-networking world, and working people who aren't already on the bandwagon need to catch up, fast. Here are 10 tips to help you get your online networking activities going without ruffling any feathers:
1. Get a new "one"
You'll need a ONE — an online networking e-mail account — just for use in discussion groups and social networking sites. If you don't get an account just for this purpose, you may find your "regular" home e-mail address (or, worse, your work address!) beset by spam messages and bacn (social networking spam). Get a new address at Yahoo! or another free-e-mail site today, and use it for all of your online networking adventures.
2. Find your group
Yahoo! Groups is the epicenter of group online discussion, with 10 million groups covering every topic from search engine optimization to moms working from home. Search for a group that suits your taste and then join it, taking care to read the group's membership guidelines before you plunge into the conversation.
3. Stake your claim
MySpace, Facebook and a zillion other high-profile sites are fun and diverting, but LinkedIn is the place for business networking, and basic membership is free.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
LinkedIn is the best for business though, although others are trying to catch up.
Plaxo is trying to catch them, but they got caught spamming a while ago... they don't do it anymore, but still...
Plaxo was good for a few things... you could always have a backup for your Outlook Contact list if you integrated it with Plaxo. I had a friend whose computer died and he lost ALL of his contacts... thanks to Plaxo, he was able to get them all back.
Plaxo would also give you full contact information for people who emailed you. Their database was not searchable though.
Smart IT people knew that if you could send yourself an email from that person, you could get their phone contacts and full PLaxo vCard if they were listed in Plaxo...
So a headhunter could, for example, send himself an email from the guessed email address of the bank President. If it's ther right one, Plaxo auto-updates the vCard and he can get the full contact info.
If you or anyone else wants to connect on LinkedIn, why not drop me a FReepmail and I’ll send an invite in return?
Quite a few of us are on LinkedIn already, and as the article says it is a great business network.
ping
BFL
Somewhat OT, but...
My 92-year-old dad is pretty sharp, but the 'Net has never appealed to him. He is fascinated by the e-mails I send of his favorite topic—amphibious aircraft—since he flew PBYs in the war. However, my stepmother seems to be losing what abilities she once had to operate my latest gift of a new XP computer and printer.
What product exists that could ease my Dad into the e-mails I send—that he is fascinated by?
I get about 3 - 4 LinkedIn network invites a week. I have no idea who 95% of the invitees are.
BMFL
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