As for Souldrifter’s comment about privacy, I agree that one should be prepared to protect your private information. But his comment about not putting your business info on LinkedIn is off the mark, since that is the purpose of LinkedIn: to make business (and social) contacts. Imagine going to a live networking event and refusing to give our your business card, maintaining that it is private information. Actually, on LinkedIn, you don’t need to give out an address or an email address publicly, so it is MORE private than a networking breakfast or a Lion’s Club lunch.

You can protect yourself from scams and identity theft online and still be open to contacts with others. Also, as the article mentions, doing so online can be easier than visiting a roomful of strangers in a restaurant or meeting room.

Another strategy to meet new contacts on LinkedIn (and other networking sites) is to join groups of like-minded professionals where you can share info, opinions and links to articles and respond to that smaller group, rather than answering questions in front of the entire LinkedIn universe. You can also see who is active in the group and is likely to enjoy a private message or invitation on LinkedIn. Groups are much less threatening, IMO, than larger settings.

Andy

On the one hand, people complain about lack of privacy and government spying, yet on the other, we willfully throw all our employment and personal information up on the internet for anyone to access.

I’ll never understand this.