[Gllug] [OT] Social networking - what's the point

[Richard]

Jason Clifford wrote:

>All this talk of social networking sites reminds me of something I thought 
>about a bit a couple of years ago - basically what's the point in these 
>things.
>
>Most seem to be used as little more than link exchanges.
>
Well, LinkedIn is less social, more professionally oriented. It's 
essentially an online CV with "I work(ed) with ..." links. I think the 
idea is to develop some level of trust, and a ready source of reliable 
references. In my little corner of the IT world (UK/Tibco-based 
integration) the same names keep cropping up, but there are always a few 
new ones to check out. Often my connection is only via headhunters, but 
that's not always the case. Knowing some workmate has worked with 
someone I am being interviewed by (or vice versa) is very handy (so long 
as I have nothing to hide).

I also find that headhunters will contact me via LinkedIn far more than 
through any other means. Strangely, they keep asking for a Word version 
of my CV, no matter how often I tell them it's just the LinkedIn profile.

Richard
http://www.linkedin.com/in/richardc (please excuse consulting/CV-speak).
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