http://thomsinger.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-coffee-meal-or-beer-rule-of-social.html?utm_source=feedly

Saturday, May 11, 2013
“The Coffee, Meal or Beer Rule” of Social Media
thom singer 

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Not every one of my contacts originally met this criteria, but a majority of those in my LinkedIn and Facebook lists are those with whom I have had a substantial initial conversation. A few got in before I established the policy, and I often make exceptions for meeting professionals and recruiters whose industries practices are to utilize LinkedIn as a way to reach out to people they may wish to do business with in the future.

There are those who disagree with my policy and believe one gains more from linking to everyone, but this has served me well. When I get a request, I will often ask for a personal meeting or a call. If the person reaching out cannot make the time for a chat, I am not sure why they want the connection at all.

My advice to others is to have a policy (even if it is different from mine), and then to be respectful of others who use these tools in different ways! (Lack of respect for those with differing opinions is an epidemic online, and we must get beyond that!).

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I agree one needs rules.

In the early days of LinkedIn, I loaded my address book.

Now I regret that.

Not enough to go back and clean it up, but enough to have printed copy of my connection and disconnection criteria.

I also dislike this new trend on LinkedIn of people saying you have a skill. (Dumb!)

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