Trusted vs Open Social Networks

Paul Pedrazzi doesn't use social networks because they are full of people he doesn't know. He'd prefer a network of trusted sources.

What if I could see the most recent bookmarks created by my trusted network in product development? Now that is a social tool I would use. Day in, day out.

Note: Paul doesn't understand LinkedIn

Hat Tip: Rosie

Comments

[Richard Becker]

I dunno Animal. I tapped into Paul's post too. While I probably give social networks more credit than he does, there are many days I feel like saying ... call me when the nomadic online wandering is over and I’ll bring by a house-warming gift.

http://copywriteink.blogspot.com/2007/09/targeting-nomads-social-networks.html

[Recruiting Animal]

Moustache, LinkedIn only allows you to search a database of people who are within three degrees of you.

That means that they have to be direct links,
direct links of your direct links or direct links of your direct links' direct links.

So you want to be linked to as many people as possible so that you will be within three degrees of as many people as possible.

Then you can find them and they can find you.

A recruiter asks: What's the point of having an internet presence if there is a limit on the number of people who can find you? Others might disagree.

[Richard Becker]

Animal,

That makes some sense because you are in the direct-to-people business. It's well-suited for recruiters and individual connections, etc. but it's not well-suited for non-recruiting professionals. For most, it makes about as much sense as standing in the New York subway with a sandwich sign. You might get bites; but it's anyone's guess if they will be the right bites.

So there nothing wrong with it per se, but it's hardly the end all to social networks as some people are claiming it to be. It's MySpace 1.9. Sure, I have a Facebook account and will fill in the basics sooner or later ... but there are much better tools out there. So eventually, recruiters will likely leave Facebook and go wherever the numbers go (unless they are niche specific, I imagine).

Rich

[Jake]

Paul (and the rest of us at AppsLab) do use and get social networking. You can find us on LinkedIn and Facebook, and much of our recent blogging has been around Connect, an internal (to Oracle) social networking we built.

Paul was musing on the trust issue as it applies to social networks within the enterprise and how to get them adopted.

Thanks for reading.
Jake