I get a lot of requests to connect with people on Linkedin. In the beginning I accepted anyone I already knew. Unfortunately that created some problems for me. I started getting contacted by people due to the links to individuals in Telecom (my previous career) even though my profile showed Independent Handknit Pattern Designer, Teacher and Blogger.
Then I discovered I was being endorsed by people who were trying to be helpful for things I don't do! I eventually removed all of those links and eliminated the endorsements. If I'm going to have a profile I'd like it to be correct.
I've had to explain this to a few friends and it appears many people treat Linkedin like Facebook as a way to connect not a business database? I've also noticed other part time designers looking to connect even though their profile shows the details of their full time jobs. I'm not sure if they can have two profiles but if they can, it would make sense to establish a second one and link to the pertinent people in each professional area.
I frequently get requests from people in industrial knitting applications. One profile was unclear so I linked only to receive a request to work for me as a free intern. I did clarify via an email and then I unlinked. Which made me realize having unrelated connections ends up burning unnecessary time.
Recently I got a request from some one unknown to me and when I reviewed the profile I noticed he was connected to my sister in the insurance industry. I checked with her and we think he found me through Facebook. I felt a little creeped out by that one.
I've decided I'm going to use Linkedin in the way which makes sense to me and no longer link to anyone who doesn't have a profile which puts them clearly in the hand knitting industry. How do you handle Linkedin?
Honestly, I don't use LinkedIn that much. I have an account, it's mostly filled out...but I don't really use it for anything. Oh well.
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