How Social Is Your Network?
I have to admit, since joining the Discovery Educator Network, I have become a little gung-ho about establishing networks. I never understood how powerful they can be until my experiences with the DEN.
In the interest of expanding my network in the biggest possible way, I started checking out online networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and others. What I found was, although they all had potential for expanding my network, they also all had the potential of being too personal. There are times that personal is good, but there are times when all you really want is for people to see what your experience is and be able to connect with you because of it.
Enter my latest interest, LinkedIN. LinkedIN is a site that allows you to enter all your past work experience and education into your profile. It displays somewhat like a resume. You have choices on who can see it, how they can contact you, etc. If you are looking for a job, you can set it so that people know you are accepting job offers.
What I like about LinkedIN is that it doesn’t have all the “add-ons” that Facebook and MySpace have, so my profile isn’t going to end up tempting me to add too much of my personal life on it. LinkedIN is strictly professional, and you can establish a network by inviting your friends as “connections.” Once you’ve established your connections, LinkedIN tells you how many people you have access to via your connections and their connections. In addition, your connections can post recommendations on your profile (don’t worry, you have to approve them in order for them to show), and you can post recommendations on theirs.
Try it! And if you want to, add me to your connections by clicking HERE.
