A few years ago, a friend sent me an invitation to join his network on LinkedIn. I actually didn’t give it a lot of thought, but simply accepted. Had I thought about it, I would probably have said, “I’m on LinkedIn. So what?” Fortunately, experience over the past year has helped me to get over that! Still, I can really see Jason Alba’s point: For a majority of new LinkedIn users the question truly is, “now what?”
Certainly there is no lack of commentary about LinkedIn. From articles in established magazines to commentary in the blogosphere, you can find lots of perspectives. And while some of the material is interesting, it can fall short in providing practical “how to” advice. So, if you are a new user, I’m on LinkedIn - Now What??? is a must read! Drawing on his own LinkedIn user experience, strong knowledge of online tools, and his perspective as a master networker, Jason provides an excellent tour of this widely used business tool.
Jason frames the content by building a clear exposition of what LinkedIn is, and what it is not. In particular, he is clear in pointing out that while this tool facilitates networking, it is not a replacement for the kind of person-to-person, real-world networking that builds relationships. From there he goes on to examine LinkedIn’s advantages and its limitations.
Staring with “Your Profile,” Jason gives clear and practical “how to” advice. Yet, he goes beyond the purely technical to share lots of great tips on using LinkedIn -- whether you want to use this tool to establish your presence on the internet, be found, find others, get or give a recommendation, get answers, join a group, or find a job! Beyond providing great coverage of features, he has included value-adding chapters on using LinkedIn for personal branding, shady practices to avoid, netiquette, and complementary tools and resources – all of which make this a must read for even experienced users!
At the start his book, Jason sets as his purpose to help readers gain “…a solid understanding of what LinkedIn is, how to use it and why things on Linkedin work the way they do.” Personally, I think he succeeds brilliantly in his mission and goes on to deliver so much more!
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