LINKEDIN: LinkedIn missed the boat?

Monday, November 5, 2007

A LinkedIn Question
by Rob Richard
Entrepreneur & IT Consultant

*** begin quote ***

Has LinkedIn missed the boat?

Is it me or does LinkedIn seem stagnant; complacent? I’ve not seen any new features in eons, and it really is getting rather old.

With the recent and sizeable cash infusion to facebook from Microsoft ($250 million worth!), what is LinkedIn’s response? There are so many things that could enhance the service. Open it up to developers just as facebook has. I think facebook is more young-people / early adopter centric, but LinkedIn could at least learn a lesson from them and stake their claim in the business and professional networking sites by adding more stickiness.

On more than one occasion I’ve sent suggestions on how to improve the site and its offerings and never heard anything in return. Now as a web entrepreneur, if I have people giving me free suggestions on how to make it more useful, I’d listen. So the question I ask is: “Has LinkedIn missed the boat?”

*** end quote ***

A very tough question.

I personally am not sure of the benefits versus costs of LinkedIn. It may well be an “activity trap” where effort far exceeds results. I think that they have a tiger by the tail.

I haven’t seen anything better.

Facebook came the closest with it’s using college email addresses to define “networks” and with some widespread adoption. But they were aiming at a different value equation.

I think LinkedIn’s poor (in some case non-existent) customer service, it’s new five “idontknows” lockout, and the MONUMENTAL blunder about hassling the LinkedIn affinity groups like LinkedInNewYork and all of Vincent Wright’s efforts is indicative of their “cluelessness”.

Have they missed the boat? No!

Have they failed to capture the wave? Yes!

If Amazon, Ebay, the Ron Paul Presidential run, and other web20 successes taught us anything, it should be that within a very well defined meme let the users surprise you with their energy. And, then hang on tight.

I suggested eons ago, that LinkedIn give me three fields for each of my contacts. One for a private note, one for a note visible only to them, and one was a “last contact date”. The private note was for my use to trigger my memory or record an important fact.The mutually visible note would be for me to record how I knew the person or what I owed them. The date was so I could produce a “days outstanding” metric and sort a “make contact list” by age. NEVER, never, never heard anything back on the idea. It showed me that they weren’t serious about servicing my needs. Only their own.

Later when they hassled the user groups, I knew they had NO CLUE about making LinkedIn a success from my point of view.

So, “No, they haven’t missed the boat” only because there is NO competition to jump to.

imho.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | LINKEDIN | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

LINKEDIN: Aligning what LinkedIn has

Monday, November 5, 2007

Arghh! This is annoying. I have ten discrepancies between what I show and what LinkedIn has. And, I didn’t even start reconciling what Outlook has.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | LINKEDIN | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

LINKEDIN: Measuring your LinkedIn contacts

Sunday, November 4, 2007

(1) Not easy to do.

(2) I watch my LinkedIn-ites pretty carefully, I have an excel spreadsheet that use to track. However many adjustments are needed to reconcile.

(3) In my spreadsheet, I have a column that takes the first character of the last name with the formula =UPPER(LEFT(celladdr,1)). That establishes what I call a panel.

(4) A separate sheet in the workbook creates a 1 in the A column if the panel cell is an “A”. B column tests B. and so on until Z. Row and column summaries look for errors.

(5) I hate when on LinkedIn people silently leave. I don’t want to keep them if they don’t want to be linked, but I would like to know that they have left. This is one of my gripes with LinkedIn. How do you handle the “leavers”?

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | LINKEDIN | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

TECH HARDWARE: Palm’s Sneakwrap Warranty

Sunday, November 4, 2007

http://weblog.infoworld.com/gripeline/archives/2007/10/palms_sneakwrap.html?source=rss

InfoWorld Gripe Line | Ed Foster
October 30, 2007
Palm’s Sneakwrap Warranty

***Begin Quote***

Indeed, if you follow in the reader’s footsteps on Palm’s website (which as I write this on Oct. 29th remains exactly as he described), it is obvious Palm is trying to hide its warranty. The logical places where Palm should tell a potential customer about the 90-day warranty are silent on the subject. Perhaps the most absurd example is the “compare” page which shows more than 40 comparative features for the E2 and two other Palm handhelds but fails to mention the fact that one (the Palm TX) has a one-year warranty while the E2 and the Palm Z22 have the 90-day warranty.

***End Quote***

Looks like Ed nails Palm on this one. And, I was toying with the idea of getting a PDA again. Palm’s off the list.

# # # # #

2 Comments | HARDWARE | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: TomTom takes my friend to three “interesting” places

Thursday, November 1, 2007

My oldest friend reported that, this week in three instances in Georgia, it delivered him to the wrong place. Amusing!

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Technology | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

TECH SOFTWARE: OUTLOOK run all rules

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Does anyone know of an easy way to have LookOut (Microsoft Outlook 2003) to run all its rules against the inbox? I know I can do it by checking every rule in the box, but seems like its more work than it should be. Help?

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | SOFTWARE | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

LINKEDIN: prune the deadwood

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

FROM AN LINKEDIN CONTACT’S EMAIL

>the connections you made from that MySQL blast that put the recipients in the cc field instead of the bcc field

Sure, while I haven’t chatted with him yet this year, I know he had two LinkedIn accounts at one time. Wonder if he ever had them merged?

That’s a interesting question.

I don’t know how many contacts I picked up that way. I do know that my “average days outstanding is 231. And my target for LinkedIn contacts is 180.

So I’m glad you asked.

I feel that I have identified about 5% of my contacts that are “dead”. It probably makes sense to prune the deadwood.

Maybe I should have a “census” of biblical proportions? Unlike Herord’s, contacts wouldn’t have to return to their birth city. Just reply to an email. Seems like a good idea.

How do you manage your LinkedIn connections?

Or, any connections?

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | LINKEDIN | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: Vanguard’s website

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

http:://www.vanguard.com

Vanguard’s website is so … … frustrating.

Do the developers ever really use the darn thing?

First, it confuses all of your “stuff” into one screen. Sorry, for legal purposes I know Frau and I are a couple. BUT, she does her stuff and I do mine.

Second, it confuses all my “stuff” together. My old pension plan from my own biz two years ago, my IRA, my new pension plan. It’s all muddled together.

Third, it doesn’t allow me to easily change to a new investment. Taxible accounts are very dangerous. Make a mistake and you’ve incurred taxes.

Argh!

I hate technology that isn’t easy to use.

# # # # #

1 Comment | Technology | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: A new way to collect DOTCOMERADEN!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

***Begin Quote***

Send this link to your friends to tell them about Digg. You could stick it on your blog, instant message it, or email it to people. We’ve even got a handy form below to help you email it.

http://www.digg.com/invitefrom/reimkefj

After you send the link your friends will be able to easily register on Digg and they’ll automatically have you as a friend. Your name will appear also briefly on the homepage as a recognition that you’ve added someone and so other people can see what you did. We count someone as added after they’ve completed registration and they’ve Dugg at least three stories.

Once your friends have been added you can also see them added in your profile in your stats. Thanks a lot for helping us spread the word about Digg!

***End Quote***

dotcomeraden! http://tinyurl.com/34n533

Yet another way to “bond” with me.

Let me adjust my tinfoil hat. There are dragons to slay!

# # # # #

 

Leave a Comment » | Technology | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

LINKEDIN: Test “liveliness” of LinkedIn contacts

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

November 1, 2007

180 pings out, 6 dead, 50 live

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | LINKEDIN | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »