Comments on: LinkedIn or Linked out? Making LinkedIn connections private.

By: Wendy R Amundson

Wendy R Amundson — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:33:25 +0000

I completely agree with you Jayne. Long before social networking went online, I was with a networking group in which one member consistently referred to her clients in code (“I’m working on an exciting project with a large manufacturer”) and if you followed up with interest (“Oh really? Who are you working with?”) she’d answer in the same code. I finally asked her why she was doing that and she said she’d had people steal her clients in the past and so was being very careful. And my feeling then was the same as my feeling today: 1) You must not be doing a very good job if your clients are so easily wooed away; and/or 2) That’s a client I wouldn’t want to have, good riddance.

By refusing to share information, she cut off conversations and made it more difficult for me to know her and her skills, thus thwarting the whole purpose of networking. Same goes today. Know the risks, but manage your networks to optimize the rewards for both you and your connections, or don’t bother.

By: Alan Belniak

Alan Belniak — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:50:54 +0000

Jayne,

Excellent post. I, too, wrote about this recently. I share the link below, because there are quite a few comments that argue both sides of the issue that I thought might be worthwhile for you and your readers.

Personally, I’m of the opinion that if you go onto a social networking site, especially one that revolves around business, it is almost expected to share one’s connections. I see the coutner points, but I think the ‘pro’s outweigh the ‘con’s.

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:13:37 +0000

Social comments and analytics for this post…

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Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:48:53 +0000

[...] LinkedIn or Linked out? Making LinkedIn connections private. « virtualmarketingofficer.com/2009/11/03/linkedin-or-linked-out-making-linkedin-connections-private – view page – cached A recent article “The Finer Points of Using LinkedIn” by Nancy Roberts Linder, in “Marketing The Law Firm” (Law Journal Newsletters, available by subscription only), addresses, among other… Read moreA recent article “The Finer Points of Using LinkedIn” by Nancy Roberts Linder, in “Marketing The Law Firm” (Law Journal Newsletters, available by subscription only), addresses, among other issues, the case for keeping your connections private; a position that I think borders on urban myth. Read less [...]

By: Russell Lawson

Russell Lawson — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:24:29 +0000

Jayne -

I agree there is something terribly disturbing about the comments you refer to, urban myth or not. The picking off of clients by competing lawyers is unethical on the face of it. And the notion that other firms and lawyers don’t know who you are representing until you put them in your Connections is just absurd.

As I mentioned in another post recently, the notion of transparency is basic to online social media. I would not dissuade lawyers from holding back on issuing invitations for Connections if they have the slightest discomfort with a name or firm. However, once invited (or connected by a reply to an invite from a Connection), I would argue strongly for keeping those names public and using their affiliations to broaden awareness and linkages. And I would never suggest that a prospect found through the network of another attorney would be “fair game” for marketing.