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?

Hubze: One card to link them all

Just finished watching a webinar replay about Hubze. I've signed with them very early on, when they were still called Moneza. The change of name is an effort to make it sound more like what they intend to accomplish: to become a "hub" or a central point where one can automatically update all the social networking sites and subscriptions one is connected to.

To give an illustration, let's take this blog. After I have written and published this post, the only people who will know that I have a new post are those that subscribed to either the Feedburner or the Google Reader on the sidebar (which I am encouraging you to do right now ^^). To be able to let other people know, I need to make an update on my Twitter, Linkedin, and Facebook accounts. The effort to do so is multiplied with the number of social network sites that you belong to.

Through Hubze, one update on my Hubze card informing those connected to me at the Hubze network that I have a new post will also tell people on my Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook networks (who may not be using Hubze) that I have a new post. When I change my contact details, the mirror details in Twitter and Facebook also gets updated. In effect, it becomes a single point of updating for me, allowing me to concentrate more on matters more important to my blog (such as content creation and site design) than having to repeat the announcement in every social network site. It also helps to ensure that I get to update each and every social network site I belong to. For a business person, that would mean being able to reach more audience at a fraction of a time. Other contents are in the works such as an in-house blog and making the site searchable.

Well, at least that's what the developers envision Hubze to accomplish. It's still in its very early stage, though the Hubze card will probably be out in a couple of days. You can click on the pic above to take you to the registration page, with me as referror. It really doesn't matter if you have been referred or not, you can simply go to their site at www.hubze.com if you like. But by being connected to me, we have started the networking and we can check on the effect of Hubze to our networks.

Thanks and let me know if you signed up and what's your initial impression of Hubze.