After six weeks, my unscientific yet decidedly “A”-for-effort LinkedIn experiment has fizzled to an ignominious and quiet ending. The reason is simple: Not only does LinkedIn not live up to its marketing hype (and seriously, how could any company promise users 5.5 times more job offers without first knowing how many offers the users were getting to begin with or, indeed, what industry the individual users are in?) and not fulfill its ostensible objective of creating an interactive Web 2.0 social networking site for professionals, it doesn’t even have the back-end functionality to support its most basic uses. As for LinkedIn customer support: What is it, five people working at a rent-a-cubicle in Des Moines? (Or Bangalore, more likely.) Boo.
Anyway. To recap. Phase 1 (uploading pre-existing contacts from Yahoo into LinkedIn): I was never able to complete it because some random programming bug started associating my YahooMail password with a Hotmail account, telling me that my Hotmail password wasn’t supported by its system. Well, duh. First of all, I don’t have a Hotmail account. Never have. Second, I was clicking the Yahoo radio button every time. Third, LinkedIn doesn’t support Hotmail. LinkedIn makes that very clear.
I e-mailed customer support twice about the matter. First, my CSR wanted screen shots. Apparently LinkedIn had never seen this phenomenon before. Then he helpfully told me that LinkedIn (drum roll) does not support Hotmail. He wound up this incredibly astute message by saying, “On your screen shot, you are selecting the Yahoo Mail button.” ”
Yes, that’s true,” I said. “Because I have Yahoo Mail.” To date, I have not received an answer.
Phase 2: Using LinkedIn functions to communicate with members of my current network. Well, I tried. I asked for referrals, I gave referrals, I passed on job requests, I sent messages…the whole kaboodle. Though about 50 percent of colleagues complied with my sudden LinkedIn frenzy, they mostly just seemed confused. “What’s the point?” seemed to be the overall response.
The other 50 percent refused to comply. One of my best professional references told me he’d happily give me a reference to anyone at any time, privately, but that he felt the LinkedIn public forum devalued the whole process.
One PR director did not respond to a media request I sent via LinkedIn for about three weeks. When she finally responded, she said “I am so sorry! Totally missed this. It went in my bulk file.” Meanwhile, the deadline for her to be included in a national feature story had come and gone.
Happily for both of us, I had gotten information from another source and included her brand. She and I moved our correspondence into regular e-mail. We’ve been communicating regularly via e-mail, Blackberry and even (gasp) in person ever since.
Phase 3: Pitching potential clients. I don’t know why, but a personal intro using any channel other than LinkedIn is, hm, 500 percent more effective than a LinkedIn intro. Again, not scientific. But.
Out of five LinkedIn intros made in Dec. and Jan., I got zero jobs. Zero meetings. Three responses to queries–two of whom were recruiters, one of whom wanted to charge me for a “consulting” service I didn’t need. And one job lead, for a job I have no interest in and for which I’m not qualified.
Out of five real-life referrals, two jobs already. For the second, I got the official offer this afternoon. The first I already finished, invoiced, visited the NYC office and was invited to bid on another projects. Additionally, I had two meetings in New York. Plus, out of the clear blue, a quasi-serious offer to take a consulting contract in Miami for a national luxury hotel brand. Someone at a conference introduced me to the founding partner, and things took off from there.
Out of five cold-calls, I received no jobs but two responses, one of which has turned into a fun back-and-forth correspondence. Who knows what will happen in time.
Final verdict: Nothing can come close to the personal referral. And no matter what the LinkedIn marketing materials say, the site can’t provide that extra personal touch.
Added to all of this personal research is my observation of the endless dialogue among MyLink500 members. I remind you, these are the LinkedIn uber-networkers. They more or less keep the whole system going with their zealotry and their dedication to maintaining LinkedIn networks. Yet. From everything I’ve seen, LinkedIn treats them as second-class citizens. All of their discussions center around how to overcome the various hurdles that the site has thrown in their path.
To me, it all seems like a tremendous waste of time. I am all for networking and always will be. I convention-hop, I save business cards obsessively, I have 1,800 contacts in my address book, and I benefit from the results every day. But if you want to network, go to a conference or a cocktail party. Scan the member list of a relevant organization, find e-mail addresses on Google and introduce yourself. Hell, start chatting up strangers in bars. Any of these methods is more effective.
When it comes to LinkedIn, it’s an understatement to say the emperor has no clothes. I don’t think the emperor is even in the house. Just like the Wizard of Oz, from the outside there’ an impressive presence, but try to peek behind the curtain and…nobody’s there.
This entry was posted on Sunday, February 17th, 2008 at 8:13 pm and is filed under Strategery, Resources. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.5 Responses to “LinkedIn V (The Conclusion): Fizzle and Splat”
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February 20th, 2008 at 1:35 am
Lena, a refreshingly down to earth assessment of LinkedIn. Beyond the hype, the site seems to be a Professional Pokemon session, with the objective being to get as many connections as you can. But, once done, you are left scratching your head as to why you bothered. Answer: so the recruitment industry can then sweep in, add you as a contact and raid your connections list. There are some winners.
I wouldn’t wish you make an assessment on the power of online networking based on this one experience though. We are launching a UK specific site in April which will use online connections to introduce trusted businesses to your network of connections, helping them to find answers to those questions they phone you with like “Do you know anygood PR companies?” - with an online network established a user will be able to use the search and find which companies in that space are endorsed by EACH MEMBER in their network with just a few clicks.
The internet is about sharing information, right? We think we can use social networking to do that instantly and bring real business benefits to the guys searching and those who have been encouraged to seek out and request endorsements for their customers.
In the meantime, I would just LOVE to hear your opinion on www.notchup.com, as that site really doesn’t make sense to me…
February 20th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
I totally agree with you about this. I became amember and that was just it. Maybe someone is keeping up with the web ranking to cash in on a sale or something. This was a waste of time.
February 23rd, 2008 at 4:29 am
In defense of LinkedIn, I have been using it since July 2004 and I have found it to be a wonderful resource and business development tool. Having a large LinkedIn network and frequently answering questions in the LinkedIn Answers forum has led to a lot of new business that my company would not have otherwise had.
Nonetheless, I respect all contrary opinions. To each his own.
February 27th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
I’m so glad you posted this information. I’ve tried numerous online sources such as the one mentioned and never get anything out of them.
I’m truly hoping that someone comes up with a better system to reach people around the globe. Hey, maybe you’re right? Maybe I should jump on a flight and spend a few days networking in other cities. I’m going to try it and let everyone know how it goes. Who knows? I might just be able to start a new business or find the additional clients I’m looking for.
Always in good business,
Karma Middleton
Marketing Coordinator
Women’s Entrepreneurial Wealth Expo
March 5th, 2008 at 11:48 am
I have alot of friends that really love linkedIN. I don’t get it, I am fine with most social networks. I don’t think it’s that user friendly.