Saturday, December 03, 2011

Applications, Tips | LinkedIn moving the needle - what I learned at Tech & Social Change #@socgoodtech

LinkedIn Applications enable you to enrich your profile, share and collaborate with your network, and get the key insights that help you be more effective. Applications are added to your homepage and profile enabling you to control who gets access to what information.

  • Portfolio Display by Beehance

    Portfolio Display

    by Behance

    Showcase your creative work in your LinkedIn Profile with the Creative Portfolio Display application. Free, easy to manage, and supports unlimited multimedia content.

This past week I had the chance to sit in on the NTeN Baltimore based Tech & Social Change meet up: http://www.meetup.com/Tech-Social-Change-Baltimore/ - the topic was about using LinkedIn for NonProfits. The group was quite diverse from novice to advanced but still the discussion as all NTeN groups are known for turned rather lively and very informative. I'm always impressed at the level of expertise and passion NTeN brings together and the Tech & Social Change Baltimore group that Kate Bladow has ramped up was no exception.

As I listened to the discussions along with presenter / speaker Colleen McKenna ( http://www.linkedin.com/in/colleenmckenna ) I find there is much more to explore on LinkedIn. Some of the functions are more in-depth then I realized and will have to start some discussions at my own work place in order to explore the value. I found many of the new features and concepts of how to use LinkedIn as an alternative marketing and engagement tool to be worth exploring.

As the point was driven several times, LinkedIn is just one of the many tools in our shed! It doesn't mean to abandon other social media tools, depending on what your professional or organizational strategies are will determine the usefulness of this tool.

In no particular order, here are some of my notes taken during the meetup:

Inmaps - a visual tool that provides a visual of your connections via your network in LinkedIn http://blog.linkedin.com/2011/01/24/linkedin-inmaps/ helps get a sense of where your contacts are in the cloud.

INfinity is another tool, picture is important in seeing the visual of your contacts. This is also via the LinkedIn Labs http://infinity.linkedinlabs.com/

Have you checked out the LinkedIn Labs?

Cardmunch, I can't wait to try this! This app transcribes / scans via smart phone camera - business cards and connects back to your LinkedIn, who evidently bought them - and it's free. http://www.cardmunch.com/

With 120 characters available in your Name and initial description use this space with key descriptive words that would be searched by potential contacts, recruiters, etc. Don't limit yourself.

Company accounts do NOT have access to the same apps as individuals, at least not yet. Concept is to build out your organization leadership which in turn drives contacts to your organization.

Alumni is newer option to find contacts and build out LinkedIn connections based on where you went to college. Schools are starting to really come on board with this service. Here is a post that details some of the benefits: http://doteduguru.com/id706-linkedin-alumni-group-tutorial.html

Turn off notifications to limit what updates are seen by public - this is a great tip if you are making modifications or simple changes of info to your profile. It is especially useful if you DON'T want your current work place to see updates happening and potentially get the wrong idea . . . . this change is done by clicking on your name, selecting SETTINGS and click on Turn On/Off Activity Broadcasts under Privacy Controls

Do you like getting "Recommendations" Don't except all of them - many organizations see them as not valid references and more of a PR ploy. "I like you and you like me" concept. So be careful what you share. Keep professional.

While I'm guilty of this you may want to reconsider posting ALL your Tweets via Twitter. Instead use #ln to post tweets on LinkedIn - this step by step setup can be found at http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/10440/linkedin-how-to-share-twitter-tweets-in-...

And the last tip I really can't wait to do involves your business card. On the back of you cards place a QR code that links back to your LinkedIn Profile URL - almost any URL shortner program can create these for you including Bit.ly and Goo.gl and you want to make more of a statement with your QR a little more hip look is an option with a "design" aspect - learn more at: http://mashable.com/2011/04/18/qr-code-design-tips/

Be careful out there, and keep those lawn blades sharp!

Michael Sola finds solutions and can translate tech into english. He's a blogger, invited presenter and speaker, he knows how to listen - he also rarely has to show ID to walk into a pub. Follow him at http://twitter.com/michaelsola or http://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelsola : his views and comments are his own. He doesn't like talking about himself in the 3rd person, just ask him.