Linked Intelligence » b5media

What's Up with Linked Intelligence?

Scott Allen — Thu, 01 May 2008 23:54:23 +0000

If you’ve actually visited the site and aren’t just reading this in your RSS reader, you’ve probably noticed some pretty drastic changes, and maybe even a few bugs the past couple of days. The broken links should now be fixed, and the navigation is all working again. Not sure when I’ll have all the images back up, but soon.

As you may have surmised, Linked Intelligence is no longer a part of the b5media network. It was by mutual agreement, all on good terms. In the simplest terms, 6 posts a week doesn’t work for me, and less than 6 posts a week doesn’t work for them. I had a great experience at b5 — love the staff and my fellow b5 bloggers who I got to know.

But there’s more to the story…

Actually, I’m going to be phasing out Linked Intelligence. I have a few more posts I want to write here, and I do plan to leave the site up indefinitely. There’s a lot of good content I’ve created here over the past couple of years, hundreds of inbound links and thousands of monthly visitors. I don’t want to just toss that away and leave a bunch of dead links around the web.

So why am I phasing out Linked Intelligence?

It’s a combination of things:

1. I’m incredibly busy with other things. This is first and foremost. Between promoting our new book The Emergence of The Relationship Economy, the many projects and prospective clients we’re working on at Link to Your World, my ongoing work as Entrepreneurs Guide at About.com, and so on, I need to reduce the number of things on my plate, and this blog is lower priority.

2. LinkedIn is doing some things very well now that they weren’t doing when this blog started. LinkedIn didn’t even have their own blog until a year ago. It got off to kind of a slow start, but now they routinely announce and explain new features, offer tips & tricks, highlight LinkedIn media coverage and (my favorite new edition) share user success stories. I created this blog to fill a need, and LinkedIn is finally filling much of it themselves.

3. LinkedIn is doing some things far worse now than they were two years ago. LinkedIn has become simply impossible to deal with as someone trying to evangelize their platform. I could give my own personal dirty laundry list a mile long, but I won’t — what they do to other people is more than enough. When I see how LinkedIn continues to ignore and/or mistreat some of its strongest evangelists and power users and refuses to address issues that have been going on for years, I simply no longer want to have my personal brand tied to their brand (that’s OK – they probably feel the same way, strangely enough).

I think LinkedIn is a great tool, and I will continue to use it, advocate it to my business associates, and train clients on using it effectively, but I’m just not going to waste any more of my time promoting it when they are not just unsupportive, but downright hostile to those of us who try to do so.

I’ll be writing some more about this in the near future — not because I hate LinkedIn, but because I love it. I think their current policies are going to drive it into the ground, and I hope that some of the investors and executives are listening, because right now, the real conversation that’s going on among LinkedIn users doesn’t seem to be having much impact on the decision-makers.

The Unlikely Success of Ruben Gonzalez

Scott Allen — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 10:12:29 +0000

As I mentioned last week, the b5media Business Apprentice Contest has now become a solo competition, and my Best Business Advice I Ever Received post managed to get me through to the next round. Here’s this week’s challenge:

Everybody loves a success story. New business owners find them inspiring. Tell Kay a success story that inspired you – it could be a famous person, a company, a family member.

The most inspiring success story I’ve ever heard is actually from a good friend of mine by the name of Ruben Gonzalez, aka “The Luge Man”. And while it isn’t a “business success story”, per se, the lessons from his story can be applied to any aspect of your life, including your business, as his own subsequent business success has proven.

Ruben was born in Argentina, and like most Argentine boys, had dreams of being a professional soccer player. Only one problem — he wasn’t very good at it. Not awful, but not exceptional.

But Ruben dreamed of being in the Olympics. In 1984, watching the diminutive Scott Hamilton win the gold medal in figure skating, he said to himself, “If that little guy can do it, I can do it too. I’m gonna be in the next Olympics no matter what. It’s a done deal.” He just had to find a sport!

Hear Ruben’s story in his own words

He realized that his strength was not exceptional athletic ability, but his perseverance. So he set out to find a sport “that’s so tough, that’s got so many broken bones, that there’s gonna be a lot of quitters.” After some research, he settled on the luge. Although he was now living in the U.S., after approaching the luge training center, once they learned he was Argentinian, they agreed to train him, as the sport needed more countries involved.

Long story short — he went from being a benchwarming soccer player to an athlete at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics — just 4 short years after seeing Scott Hamilton’s inspiring performance. Most Olympic luge athletes began at age 12. Ruben first got on a luge sled at age 21. And while he didn’t medal, he managed to stay competitive enough in the sport to return to the Olympics in 1992.

Now, as if that weren’t enough… nearly 10 years later, his former coach calls him up and says, “Argentina needs you.” And at age 39 (!), he competed again in the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

What Ruben’s story shows is that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary results with the right combination of vision, determination and courage.

Today, Ruben is one of the brightest new motivational speakers in the world. I encourage you to check out his video below and hear more of his story in his own words:

Click to view video

You can also check out his blog, download a free copy of his e-book, Becoming Unstoppable, or pick up his book, The Courage to Succeed.

And of course… he’s on LinkedIn.

The Best Business Advice I Ever Received

Scott Allen — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 19:00:54 +0000

Over the past few weeks here in the b5media business channel, we’ve been having a little contest — sort of our own version of The Apprentice. We were divided into two teams, "The Aces" (my team) and "The Pros", and given the following initial challenge:

Kay just started a new business marketing aprons and chef’s hats for children. After other expenses, she has $500 to spend on a marketing campaign – she doesn’t know if she should take out an ad, hire a PR person, start a website or what. What do you recommend as the best use of her dollars?

The two teams each collaborated on an answer and posted their replies on one of the team’s blog. A combination of public voting and internal judging determined the winning team, and three blogs were eliminated from the losing team. Then each week, we were given a new challenge, and so on, until one team was entirely eliminated (except for the team leader and a couple of top vote getters). There was some really fantastic advice in here, much of it applicable to any startup.

Here are links to the various entries:

Week 1: Aces (winner) / Pros
Week 2: Pros (winner) / Aces
Week 3: Aces (winner) / Pros
Week 4: Aces (winner) / Pros
Week 5: Aces (winner) / Pros

So now that my team has deftly eliminated our competition , it’s every blogger for him/herself — we’re all flying solo. Here’s this week’s challenge:

Tell Kay the best business advice you’ve ever received in 50 words or less.

Wow — that’s a tall order! Not because it’s hard to think of good business advice in 50 words or less, but because I have received so much good business advice that it’s hard to narrow it down to "the best". And moreover, "the best" is highly contextual. That’s an important thing to keep in mind when giving advice — does it really apply to the other person’s current situation? A couple of the things I thought of as some of "the best" business advice I’ve ever received aren’t very applicable to Kay and her business.

But here’s what I came up with:

You don’t have to go it alone. Entrepreneurs tend to try to do everything themselves. Find joint venture partners. Outsource non-core, lower-value tasks to lower-cost resources. Hire great people. Get a mentor. Get free support from SCORE, your local SBDC or online. Just get help!

I could go on and on about that. I’ve written articles on About Entrepreneurs about every single one of those suggestions. It’s been an ongoing learning experience for me on those very topics, as I’m now in the process of creating a much larger business than I had envisioned a few years ago when I started down my current path.

So what do you think? What was the best business advice you ever received?

And as I mentioned, this is now a contest, and your vote counts! If you’d like to support me in becoming b5media’s next "Apprentice", visit TaxGirl and vote for Linked Intelligence in the right sidebar. I appreciate your support!

LinkedIn for Newbies

Scott Allen — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 07:27:17 +0000

Darlene McDaniel over at Interview Chatter has created a great 10-part series on LinkedIn, as seen through the eyes of a new user:

What is LinkedIn? – Darlene starts with a brand new LinkedIn account, sets up a profile and connects to some people that are already on the system, all in about 90 minutes.
One Value of Your LinkedIn Profile – Within 24 hours, Darlene has access to nearly a million people on LinkedIn.
Book Review: I’m on LinkedIn — Now What?? – I was Executive Editor on this book, so I admit I’m biased, but Darlene really enjoyed it. Key message at this point – complete your profile thoroughly.
LinkedIn Connections – "Now What?" – Darlene has the "ah-hah" moment that it’s really the number of people in your second degree that matters more than the number of people in your first degree. The power is in the links.
LinkedIn Connections – "Now What?", Pt. 2 – Do you have a LinkedIn success story of your own to share? Darlene wants to hear it.
LinkedIn Connections – Degrees – Darlene explains degrees of separation and starts exploring reaching out beyond her immediate connections.
LinkedIn – Blast from My Past – Darlene reconnects with her previous manager through a mutual contact.
LinkedIn Answers – A brief tour of one of LinkedIn’s most powerful features.
Create More Value with LinkedIn – Inspired by a Guy Kawasaki post, Darlene shares some tips specifically for job-seekers on how to use LinkedIn to prepare for your interview.
LinkedIn – Jobs & Hiring – An overview of the tools available for job seekers on LinkedIn.

It’s All About Meme!

Scott Allen — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 05:32:14 +0000

It seems I’ve been meme-tagged, so what better excuse to poke my head out from a several-week hiatus, eh? Ali over at Greener Assets has tagged me for the “7 random things about me that you might not know” meme.

So here we go…

Although it’s many people’s biggest fear, public speaking is actually one of my very favorite activities. I spoke a couple of weeks ago at the Electronic Retailing Association annual conference and got snagged on the show floor for an interview by Technology Evangelist. If you’ve ever wondered what I look like beyond a tiny headshot, now you know.
.
I’ve kissed a dolphin. It was a few years ago at Discovery Cove in Orlando, which I highly recommend — absolutely one of the best vacation experiences of my life. I can hardly wait to go back.
.
I used to be a champion swing dancer. Not to brag, but I really had so many trophies I lost track. They were basically acting as a great big dust collector and we finally threw them all out. I’m way out of competition shape at this point, but I really miss it and hope to get back to it some day. I still love occasionally going out dancing with my wife (need to do that more!). Check out my dance photo gallery.
.
I’m also a musician. I play guitar, bass, piano/synth and a little drums. I’ve played professionally but I’m not in a band at the moment. The past two years, though, I’ve been directing “Homeschool of Rock”, a rock band for homeschoolers.
.
Speaking of homeschooling, we homeschool my son, Jordan. It’s been a great experience. He’s an actor and model – check out his portfolio. He’s a great kid – I just hope the next 5 years are as good as the first 13!
.
Speaking of kids, I’m a grandfather, 4 times over: Caleb, Aubree, Christian and Michael (Mickey). OK, well, technically it’s via my stepsons (I’m only 41), but for all practical purposes, it’s the same, and I love them just as much. That’s the latest one at right.
.
I love fantasy, sci-fi, role-playing — all that geeky stuff. I was a total Dungeons & Dragons nut growing up. I don’t have time for it much any more, other than a little bit of time playing Anarchy Online. But even really bad fantasy movies, I find thoroughly entertaining. At right is how I imagine my alter-ego.

So there you go! Now on to the next seven bloggers to carry on the meme…

fellow business b5ers…

other LinkedIn bloggers…

Vincent at LinkedIn Business Discussion Index
Fernando at Thoughts About the Future of LinkedIn
Bill at Boost Your Career with LinkedIn

9 Ways to Get Linked Out on LinkedIn

Scott Allen — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:22:33 +0000

I talk a lot about how to make effective use of LinkedIn — today let’s look at some ways NOT to use LinkedIn. Here are nine sure-fire ways to network like a schmuck and achieve exactly the opposite effect you’re probably going for:

Use the canned invitations. Really — they’re there for your convenience. A lot of thought obviously went into them already, so why should you put any more effort into personalizing your invitations? Everyone loves to get an “I’d like to add you to my professional network” message.
Any time you see an interesting profile, invite them to connect. Regardless what LinkedIn recommends, nobody really uses it just to connect with people they know. It’s just like a MySpace friend request — everybody does it. Don’t bother to contact them first — no need. Just send them one of those default invitations.
While you’re at it, invite everyone from all your Yahoo! Groups and other discussion lists and forums. One common interest is more than sufficient reason to connect on LinkedIn, isn’t it? Don’t bother to contact them first either. Just send them one of those default invitations everybody loves so much.
Ignore those silly contact settings. If you’ve got a business deal or a job inquiry, you know better than they do whether they might be interested — they couldn’t possibly have anticipated this particular opportunity. Just call it an “expertise request” or a “request to reconnect” and then tell them why you’re really contacting them.
Turn off all email notifications and just use the website. Once every week or two is often enough to handle things — there’s never any urgency to things coming through LinkedIn. If people need to contact people in a hurry they should use the phone and contact them directly, not get introductions through LinkedIn.
Use Answers to grow your network. What better way to connect with lots of people? You can’t directly ask for connections — that will get your question deleted. Try something more subtle, like “How can I best find other open networkers who are willing to connect with me so I can get thousands of connections?”
Answer as many questions as you possibly can in as many different topics as you can. Don’t worry about putting too much thought into them — just get your numbers up so you’ll show up as a top expert. And just by the law of large numbers, you’re bound to get a few “best answer” designations. No one will wonder why you have so much time on your hands.
If you’re a recruiter and someone makes an introduction request to one of your candidates, tell them what your fee is. It doesn’t matter that other people make introductions for you for free — you’re a professional — you do this for a living.
Ask all your contacts for recommendations and offer them one in return – especially all those people you don’t know who agreed to connect. Just write something generic about what a great guy/gal they are. That’s what reciprocity is all about!

Just follow the advice above and in next to no time you’ll be spending several hours a week on LinkedIn, plus get a nice letter from their customer service department with some free educational materials about their usage policies. What fun, eh?

This post was part of a b5media Business Channel group writing project, 99 Ways to Kill Your Business. The whole collection is a lot of fun, as well as very educational, but on the topic of networking, I particularly recommend:

Jump Start Your Business, Take Home $2,000 in Prizes and Services

Scott Allen — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 18:36:26 +0000

Launching a new business? Need help with a business you recently started? Enter our “Jump Start Your Business” contest and win a b5media Prize Pack valued at over $2,000 including free financial software, merchandise and valuable business advice from the business professionals at b5media!

Our Rules
Our Questions
Our Prizes
Our Sponsors
Our Experts
Our Disclaimers

Our Rules

Entries must be sent via email with “Jump Start Your Business” in the subject line to businesscontest@mac.com by 11:59p.m. EST on September 25, 2007.
Format: Plain Text or PDF Only. No other attachments or formats will be accepted.
You must be at least 18 years old to participate.
Contest is open to new businesses or fledgling businesses which have been in existence for less than one year.
By entering the contest, you agree that b5media may post any part or all of your submission, as a part of the contest announcements or promotions, with the exception of your email address.
To be considered, entries must also include the following:
1. Name of applicant (either team or individual)
2. Where you live (city and state or country is sufficient)
3. Email address. We won’t publish your email address, but we do need contact information for the winning entries. We respect your privacy, and we will not send you anything unrelated to your entry in this contest.

Our Questions

To enter, send us your abbreviated business plan for a your new or fledgling business with the following information:
1. What’s your business idea?
2. Who is on your business team – in other words, who is going to make this idea work?
3. When did you start your business? Or when do you plan to start your business? What is your time frame for success?
4. Why is this business going to be a success?
5. Why should we pick you as the winner?
Your abbreviated business plan should be no longer than 1000 words.

Our Prizes

The Grand Prize winner receives the Prize Pack including:

A subscription to Entrepreneur magazine, courtesy of Entrepreneur.com
A Web Developer host package for one year (consists of 5 domains, 600 subdomains and 200 host external domains; 300 GB web space 3,000 monthly transfer volume and 50 ftp accounts; 4,000 email accounts and 2 GB mailbox space; $475 of vouchers to get you started with Microsoft adCenter, Google AdWords, Yahoo Search marketing and Citisearch; 10 free blogs and more), courtesy of 1and1.com
A Private Jet billing package for one year (up to 500 clients, unlimited invoicing and customer support), courtesy of Freshbooks.com
A b5media T-shirt, courtesy of b5 media
Your choice of a taxgirl organic tee or long sleeve tee and $25 gift card to Amazon.com, courtesy of taxgirl.com
Wireless mouse, wireless keyboard and keyboard riser, courtesy of InterviewChatter.com
12-month subscription to the Sales Leadership Zone, a place where sales leaders and small business owners can find everything they need to increase sales and drive business, courtesy of TheSalesPractitioners.com
A copy of Phil Gerbyshak’s book, 10 Ways to Make it Great, courtesy of SlackerManager.com
$50 in Pecunix Digital Gold Currency, courtesy of digitalmoneyworld.com
Jason Alba’s new book, I’m on LinkedIn…Now What???”, courtesy of LinkedIntelligence.com

and over $1,000 of free business advice (in the form of email, phone or Skype) from our experts to get you started!

The first runner-up will receive:

A subscription to Entrepreneur magazine, courtesy of Entrepreneur.com
A Business Developer host package for one year (consists of 3 domains, 200 subdomains and 100 host external domains; 250 GB web space 2,500 monthly transfer volume and 25 ftp accounts; 2,500 email accounts and 2 GB mailbox space; $250 of vouchers to get you started with Microsoft adCenter, Google AdWords, Yahoo Search marketing and Citisearch; 10 free blogs and more), courtesy of 1and1.com
A Shuttle Jet billing package for six months (up to 25 clients, unlimited invoicing and customer support), courtesy of Freshbooks.com
A copy of Phil Gerbyshak’s book, 10 Ways to Make it Great, courtesy of SlackerManager.com
and free consulting advice from two of our experts of your choosing.

The second runner-up will receive:

A subscription to Entrepreneur magazine, courtesy of Entrepreneur.com
A Business Developer host package for one year (consists of 3 domains, 200 subdomains and 100 host external domains; 250 GB web space 2,500 monthly transfer volume and 25 ftp accounts; 2,500 email accounts and 2 GB mailbox space; $250 of vouchers to get you started with Microsoft adCenter, Google AdWords, Yahoo Search marketing and Citisearch; 10 free blogs and more), courtesy of 1and1.com
A copy of Phil Gerbyshak’s book, 10 Ways to Make it Great, courtesy of SlackerManager.com
and free consulting advice from two of our experts of your choosing.

Our Sponsors

A big THANK YOU to our sponsors! Please let them know that they are appreciated!

1 & 1 Internet, Inc.
Entrepreneur Magazine
Freshbooks, Inc.

The entire b5 media Business Channel community:

Behind the Buzz
Brandcurve
Business and Blogging
Buzz Networker
Common Sense PR
Contract Worker
Copy Blogger

Digital Money World
Franchise Pick
Home Biz Notes
Interview Chatter
Just Make Money Online
Leadership Turn
Life Dev
Linked Intelligence
Pimp Your Work

Property Crossroads
Slacker Manager
Small Business Boomers
Start Up Spark
Successful Blog
Taxgirl
Work Boxers
Yielding Wealth

and thanks to Don at Archetype Digital Solutions for designing our promotional badge!

Our Experts

Tax tips from Kelly Phillips Erb of taxgirl.com
Consulting and marketing advice from Jim Norton of smallbusinessboomers.com
Marketing direction from Rico Masterson of contract-worker.com
Personal finance and blogging information from Miranda Marquit of yieldingwealth.com
Using a range of social media tools in marketing and connecting with a community from Rachel Clarke of behindthebuzz.com
Hiring practices and creating core competencies for positions from Darlene McDaniel of interviewchatter.com
Identifying business purpose and strategy for a blog from Des Walsh of deswalsh.com
Coaching from Miki Saxon, courtesy of rampupsolutions.com
Linked In makeover from Scott Allen of LinkedIntelligence.com
Marketing and brand identity critique from Sean Kelly of franchisepick.com
Copywriting tips from Brian Clark of copyblogger.com
Home business advice from Mary Emma Allen of homebiznotes.com
Copy editing, writing, or website usability advice from Eric Eggertson of CommonsensePR.com
Customer service and community relations advice from Douglas Hanna of ServiceUntitled.com
Tech marketing advice from Sunir Shah of Freshbooks, Inc.

Our Disclaimers

The winning entries will be determined by a panel of judges from b5media at our sole discretion. Our decision is final.
Prizes cannot be redeemed for cash or cash equivalent.
Donated prizes cannot be guaranteed; we reserve the right to make substitutions of equal or greater value if necessary.

Being August – b5media Business Channel Theme Day

Scott Allen — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 13:00:58 +0000

Once a month, the b5media business channel holds a “theme day”, in which our business bloggers contribute posts around a particular theme. Besides being an enormous amount of fun for us and a good exercise in thinking outside the box, it’s also a fun way for you to learn about some of our other business blogs and maybe spark a little thinking outside the box of your own.

I actually came up with this month’s theme, and so I also get the privilege of hosting it.

One day when I was thinking about the names of the months of the year, I noticed that only three months — March, May and August — are not only names but also words in the English language. Of those, two are quite common, while the other — August — is not exactly part of the typical household conversation (oh, by the way, that’s a statue of Augustus, for whom the month was named, in the photo).

Dictionary.com defines “august” as follows:

inspiring reverence or admiration; of supreme dignity or grandeur; majestic: an august performance of a religious drama.
venerable; eminent: an august personage.

So that’s our theme for this month — “Being August”. Our bloggers have each produced their own take on this as fits their blog. Enjoy!

On Property Crossroads, Maricel Ferrer-Custodio tells the inspiring story of Barbara Corcoran, who started her real estate agency with just $1,000 and has grown it into the largest in New York City. Maricel says, “She is one of the most admirable people in the real estate industry not only because of her achievements but also because of her great attitude towards life.”

Over at Leadership Turn, Jonathan Farrington, himself an adopted Parisien, extols the virtues of Paris in August: “If there were a social equivalent of a fiscal year in the life of Paris, it would end on July 30th…Come the end of July or early August, most small businesses, including butchers, fishmongers, greengrocers, and a good number of restaurants simply close down for 3 to 4 weeks.” Sounds heavenly for them!

Mary Emma Allen of Home Biz Notes lists six ways to develop an august home business — “one that stands out in the crowd, …draws attention and attracts repeat customers.” My favorite is the final one: “Have fun with your business and what you’re doing.”

Kelly over at TaxGirl talks about being under the influence… and wonders what (and who) inspires you.

On Behind the Buzz, Rachel Clarke wonders if conversational marketing can be august: “You have to ask yourself how can a buzz campaign, a social media campaign ever be august, ever be a source of dignity. Especially if it is some weird, funny video or game that gets thrown into the mix.” But there are a couple that have “inspired reverence or admiration” for her.

At Contract Worker, Rico Mossesgeld talks about how embracing what is most august—greatness—leads to freelancing success.

Over at Interview Chatter, Darlene McDaniel asks, “Are you august?” Darlene wants to hear from her readers about “August people… people we admire, people who are amazing, people who inspire awe, people who are outstanding at what they do.”

Des Walsh of Business and Blogging asks the very pointed question: “Would you rather your company was revered or profitable?” He goes on to suggest that venerable old companies could help ensure their survival by picking up on blogging and other social media tools.

Tris Hussey at Pimp Your Work, being (in his own words) “always the rebel”, offers some apropos advice for August about heat and hardware. Having a laptop myself that likes to overheat, I think this is well-timed advice, particularly for laptop owners.

Small Business Boomers is host to Jim Norton’s look at the leadership style of Caesar Augustus: “…someone who would use any means that he thought he could get away with to accomplish his ends. He appeared to be a man who was only afraid of failure.”

And on Linked Intelligence, I show how to be august on LinkedIn with 7 ways to show your character. “If you are a person of character, you need to show that, and LinkedIn is a great opportunity to do that. Here are 7 ways that you can actually demonstrate your character on LinkedIn, rather than just talk about it.”

Thanks to all the b5media bloggers who participated. And if you feel inspired by this theme and write something on your own blog, please feel free to post it in the comments.

Image of “Augustus of Prima Porta” by Xerones via flickr. Some rights reserved.

5 Ways to Have Fun with LinkedIn

Scott Allen — Mon, 21 May 2007 05:01:27 +0000

I know, I know… using LinkedIn is fun, right? That’s why so many power users spend several hours a week on it, right?

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

In honor of this month’s b5media Business Channel May theme day on “Work & Play“, I thought I’d do something a little different and take a look at some ways to use LinkedIn to enhance your personal life, not just your business.

Reconnect with old classmates or colleagues. Your odds are probably just about as good of finding them on LinkedIn as on Classmates or Reunion.com (but try them too if you don’t find them on LinkedIn). Who knows? You might even find your childhood sweetheart on there!
~~Connect with~~ Meet new people with common interests or to learn a new skill. Who says all your searches have to be about business? Want to learn about skydiving or scuba diving? There are hundreds, maybe thousands (all I know is it’s more than 500) of people on there who can tell you about each of them. Some of them are even instructors. Limit the search to your local area and see who your common connections are, and that will help you have a better experience meeting that person.
Play “Who am I connected to?” Think of an incredibly high-profile person you’d like to meet (and ostensibly have some reason to) and use LinkedIn to try to get an introduction. You may have to go one degree short of them, though. For example, Bill Gates isn’t a member, but several other past and present Microsoft executives are, as well as over 100 past and present Gates Foundation employees. Donald Trump? Not a member, but several past winners of “The Apprentice” are, as well as dozens of Trump Organization employees. Give it a shot – what have you got to lose?
Join one of the dozens of LinkedIn discussion groups. Whether you’re into success books, philosophy or just plain FUN, there’s a Yahoo Group where you can connect with other LinkedIn users who share that interest. Some are less active, others quite active, but if one of them strikes your fancy, you can certainly go spark up the discussion yourself. That can be fun too!
Make a bet with your kid to see whether you get better answers on LinkedIn Answers or Yahoo Answers. He told me there were a lot more people on Yahoo, and that there were some really smart ones who often give high-quality answers. I said I didn’t doubt him, but I thought that even with fewer members, LinkedIn would produce better answers. You be the judge: Yahoo or LinkedIn? OK, so maybe you don’t have to make a bet with your kid, but still, even though the categories are limited somewhat to business-oriented topics, you can use LinkedIn Answers to ask questions that have nothing to do with your business, just to satisfy your curiosity.

What about you? How do you have fun with LinkedIn?

Linked Intelligence and 5 More Blogs Join b5media Business Channel

Scott Allen — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 17:35:48 +0000

Hooray! It’s official! Linked Intelligence is now a full-fledged b5media blog, along with five others that also launched today in the business channel:

Behind the Buzz:
Advertising executive Rachel Clarke shares tips, information, and news about the latest and most successful branding/marketing strategies and events.

Buzz Networker:
MySpace sensation Kevin Palmer shares his tips, advice, and know how relating to social media and how it can help your business succeed. (I’ll be reading this one a LOT!)

Tough Questions, Great Answers:
Blogger and HR professional Darlene McDaniel shares her insights and advice on how to handle some of the toughest interview questions and situations. She also covers how to find the perfect job, how to do great in your career, and more.

Tax Girl:
Who would think someone could make taxes fun and exciting? Well, tax attorney Kelly Phillips Erbs does. On her fantastic blog, Kelly explains the nitty gritty of taxes, deductions, and like while at the same time keeping readers engaged and interested with current events and stories of interest.

Workboxers:
b5 blogger and Internet entrepreneur Kris Karkoski will be writing about making a living online, buying and selling web sites, SEO, and more at Workboxers.

You can check out all the blogs in the business channel at the bottom of my sidebar or at the bottom of the page, where you’ll also find the most recent posts from the business channel and links to b5media’s 200 or so blogs covering a wide array of topics from arts & design to video games.

One more b5media note… CEO Jeremy Wright, as part of the Chitika Blog Bash, has written about the b5media story and some of the challenges they’ve faced in building one of the largest blog networks:

Blog to Blog, Inc. -Turning a Cup of Coffee a Day into Millions

A great read for anyone wanting to be a professional blogger.