Since 2008 I have Linked-in with ~ 2300 people at an assortment of professional levels -- and decision makers when it comes to capital spend and originating service contracts. I am literally on a "first name" basis with many CEO's, and Executive VPs, hedge fund investment mangers and well-placed academicians.
I have reconnected with many former classmates and have been able to follow their careers even as they are able to follow mine. It surprised me to see how many people I have known over the years and who remember me as well.
You will be located on the internet and to some degree you have the choice as to how you will be located by others on the internet. Linked-in is nothing like the nonsense FaceBook is. I do not have a FaceBook page simply because that is not how I choose to be known to the world or located on the internet.
I have the basic service and it costs me nothing. I even own one of the grad school Group sites associated with one of my graduate degrees. Alumni ask me to join and if appropriate to the Group I allow them to join (currently at ~ 800 members since I launched it). It also gives me new people from one of my academic institutions to connect with who I may not have known when I was there. Example: Had an MD/PhD/JD just this week request to join the group and we became Linked-In connections. We are arranging a long-term service contract at this time wherein I will be advising one of his pharma start-ups.
Professionally speaking, for a guy in his own business like I am, it has been a blessing in many ways. That said, if you read other commenters here, some don't find it to be of quite the same value in their professions.
Resume's are still necessary of course as are professional brochures and business cards to some degree, but a client wants an easy way to do their research on you and inviting someone to view your Linked-In profile really cuts to the chase, saves time, postage, drives traffic to the web site, and it's all free.
FReegards!
