Wow.
That’s a big number, especially when you consider that most people think of LinkedIn as the “boring” social network. They’re not wrong. When I teach a class on social networking, I include LinkedIn. But I also stress that it’s very professional, unlike Facebook, and that most people aren’t posting status updates about their cat on LinkedIn.
Where are these 50 million connections? According Jeff Weiner on the LinkedIn blog,
LinkedIn has been global since inception — about half of our total membership is international. There are now 11 million users in Europe alone. India is currently our fastest-growing country with almost 3 million users, while the Netherlands has the highest rate of adoption per capita outside the U.S., at 30%.
I bet that’s not surprising to you. It’s certainly not to me. Personally, I use LinkedIn to track potential jobs and clients, as well as research potential jobs and clients. You can learn a lot about a company based on who used to work there. Additionally, I try to answer several Questions on their Q&A pages on a regular basis. It never hurts to be known as an expert in something. I list it on my business cards as well – it’s an instant resume where I control the amount of information that’s viewable. LinkedIn is, in my opinion, sort of like Old Reliable. It doesn’t frighten social media newbies (and yes, they’re out there) as much as Facebook and I can trust that it will probably be around for a while.
Do you still use LinkedIn or do you find it has outlasted it’s usefulness?