Should I stay Linkedin?

Just finished a week attending a training/workshop, and as usual I was able to network with other professionals. Before, it was my regular routine to get the info from the calling cards I collected and load them up at Linkedin. But lately, I've been concerned about the idea of inviting all my newly found colleagues to be my Connections in the professional networking site. Here are a couple of reasons:

1. Complete visibility. You would think that Linkedin would have realized that some level of confidentiality should be built in to their design. Even in our private circles, we tend to put limits on who gets what info, the way that people do it with List in Facebook. But such is totally absent from Linkedin. You allow one person to be your direct connection, and he gets to see all of your other connections. Something just doesn't feel right with that.

2. The headhunting dilemma. This flows from the first reason. I won't mind getting a headhunter in my Connections, considering the opportunity that they can provide a the proper time in my career. However, it feels like I am violating the trust and confidentiality of the rest of my Connections by allowing these headhunter connections that I have to browse their profiles. For all I know, getting headhunted is the last thing in the minds of my friends. So, for me to increase my network without unduly violating the confidentiality of my Connections, I would have to turn down all invitations for connection by headhunters, which is something useful but will have to be sacrificed. And still it doesn't solve the issue of how to limit what my Connections see in terms of my profile and other connections.

3. Too many things for a price. You want to be able to create folders? You have to pay (though they have a free trial at the moment). You want to see who's been checking your profiles? You have to pay. In this age, the concept of having to pay a networking site to keep it alive is probably resting on a wrong business model.

4. Lack of innovation. I had my Linkedin account for quite some time now, and I can't remember getting excited again after the time that I joined when I thought it was the best thing in the world after Facebook. No real new features. Tripit is the only application that seems to be improving, albeit so slowly, and for additional features that I hardly find any value in.

With that said, Linkedin still has the potential to provide benefits to its members. A wider network allows you to bounce your ideas with more effectively; groups catering to professional niches; and of course, the possibility of developing your own personal brand. Companies themselves find Linkedin so important, that every Fortune 500 company has a presence in it. Just right now, I am reading a magazine that says the boss of Accenture intends to hire no less that 40% of its new staff in the coming years through Linkedin. And Linkedin has responded by hiring key personnel to drive its direction and spruce up the site.

So, I'd probably keep Linkedin despite those "problems", which I hope they would get to address soon.

Have you Linkedin as well? How was it able to help you so far?