In discussing LinkedIn, the popular business professional social network, these two blog posts below make reference to key issues when you become a member of LinkedIn. The first talks about two key networking tools you should use as a LinkedIn member -- the "groups" networking tool and "Tweets". The second talks about the importance of using correct etiquette when you are a member of a group on LinkedIn.
Join the CoSIDA LinkedIn group here: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=672427&trk=anet_ug_grppro
read online: 2 LinkedIn Networking Tips You Should Be Aware of, by Ann Smarty
Despite the fact is that I hang out at LinkedIn less than on Twitter or Facebook, LinkedIn is my favorite network: less clutter and more sense than anywhere else. LinkedIn is perfect for building your resume and networking for business purposes.
It is confusing at times though and some of its really cool features are either hidden or unclear. This post explains the two powerful networking tools inside LinkedIn:
1. Groups
I am sure you are aware of the feature: anyone can start a group at LinkedIn to give your brand more social media exposure and participating in groups created by others is a great way to become known and heard. I have compared a LinkedIn Group to a Facebook Group – so if you are wondering how LinkedIn groups work I highly recommend checking out that post.
The exposure part is clear: participating in LinkedIn groups:
• Lets you discover more influencers in your niche and connect to them;
• Allows you to get an idea what business people in your niche discuss and talk about and gives you more context to speak up and get noticed.
However another powerful advantage of joining relevant LinkedIn groups is that
it gives your second- and third-tier contacts to add you to their networks.
LinkedIn is very strict about why you add a person “to friends”: when sending a friend request you need to specify the reason why you want to be connected.
Being part of one LinkedIn group is the powerful reason of getting in touch and possibly building strong partnership.
Of course, joining too many groups at LinkedIn may result in flooding your email inbox with various group updates. However few people are aware of the fact that this can be configured from “My Settings” of each group (located behind the “More” tab in the group nav bar).
See the graphic, right.
2. Tweets!
Tweets is a cool LinkedIn application that lets you integrate your Twitter power with your LinkedIn network (and vice versa). Once installed, the application allows you to grow both the networks simultaneously (and consequently, get to know your contacts closer):
• Use
“Connections to Follow” module that recommends new people for you to follow, based on your LinkedIn connections (Your LinkedIn connections you are not following at Twitter yet).
•
“Connections” tab allows you to see all of your LinkedIn connections who have added Twitter accounts to their LinkedIn profiles. Simple navigation is provided to make it easy to see who you are and aren’t following on Twitter.
• One of the most useful features of the Tweets application
is the ability to save your LinkedIn 
connections as a dynamic Twitter list.
When you click the link to save your connections as a Twitter list, LinkedIn will create a
private Twitter list for all of your LinkedIn connections who have added Twitter accounts. More importantly, LinkedIn will automatically keep this list up-to-date, adding and removing Twitter accounts to the list daily based on your LinkedIn connections.
This makes it extremely easy to keep track of what your LinkedIn connections are tweeting about in any Twitter client that supports Twitter lists.
Ann Smarty is the Director of Media at BlueGlass where she serves as the Editor of Search Engine Journal. Ann's expertise in blogging and tools serve as a base for her writing, tutorials and her guest blogging project, MyBlogGuest.com.
see online: Rules of Etiquette on LinkedIn Groups, by Justin Beller
LinkedIn Groups is a feature of LinkedIn, the popular
business professional social network, that creates a community around a common interest for its members. Groups have grown immensely popular and have provided a forum for LinkedIn members to interact, share ideas and demonstrate thought leadership on various subjects. Like many social networks and forums, there is the potential to misuse the platform in ways it was not intended, such as to pitch products that are unrelated to the topic at hand.
Whether you participate in LinkedIn Groups as a member or administer a Group of your own, there are some general rules of etiquette to follow to make the experience for all who participate (whether they actively comment to discussions or just read posts) a pleasurable one:
• If you join a Group, make sure it is a good fit. Don’t join one just for the sake of joining one. If you can add to the discussion and contribute in a meaningful fashion, by all means join. Some Groups require membership approval by an administrator while others automatically register you.
• Ask yourself if the discussion post you have added to the Group you recently joined adds value. Is it keeping with the theme and intention of the Group overall?
• How frequent are you posting discussions to the Group? Sometimes, discussion questions need to “marinate” and settle to allow for people to reflect and build momentum toward an active discussion. If you are a participant in a Group posting frequent discussion questions, perhaps you should start your own Group? Too many discussion questions dominates the Group.
• Observe the rules of etiquette as you would online or offline in the LinkedIn Group environment. Be respectful and courteous. Don’t “flame” others if you disagree with their point of view.
• No sales pitches – ever! The best self-promotion in a LinkedIn Groups is simply contributing and being helpful to others. Share your knowledge and expertise. Add value to the discussion. The LinkedIn environment allows others to find out more about you through your Profile. If they think you could be of service to them outside of the Group, they will reach out to you.
Remember, the LinkedIn Group community is a forum to lend support, answer questions and provide guidance to others. Any form of marketing in a Group is generally frowned upon, so if you want to stay relevant in a Group observe the rules of etiquette I’ve outlined here. If you contribute in a meaningful and respectful manner others will see the value in what you have to offer and perhaps view you as an authority in your respective field.
Justin Beller is the author of most of the content found on Social Media Guide Books. Professionally, Justin is a training developer and owner of his own consulting company, PinPoint Performance Solutions.