LinkedIn is a powerful social networking tool that I feel goes under the radar with so much emphasis placed on Twitter and Facebook. I think one of the things that turns people away from LinkedIn is that on the surface it is restrictive on how you communicate and network with other people. Under their basic plan, you must have some sort of relationship with the person in order to send a direct message to them- which is quite frustrating as it defeats the purpose of a networking site. If you decide to upgrade to one of their premium subscriptions, you are limited to how many messages you can send on a monthly basis.
This is a little loophole I use to connect with anyone in my fields of interest without paying for one of the premium services. This social networking “trick” leverages LinkedIn’s powerful groups features and search function-
Hope this will help you accelerate whatever plans you have in store for 2010.
(Word of caution: LinkedIn is very protective of how people connect on their site. Do not just use this as a means to add as many “connections” to your LinkedIn profile. If too many people flag you when you try to add them under the guise “I do not know this person”, you will be warned and possibly kicked off. Use this tool as a means to sincerely network with others.)
