Open Connections on LinkedIn

by Alan Belniak on October 6, 2009 · 11 comments

in Social Media

"Sure, call anyone you like...."

"Sure, call anyone you like...."

I recently had a discussion with a friend-and-colleague (Friend #1) of mine about opening up one’s connections on LinkedIn. It’s been a while since I set up my profile, but as I recall, that is the default action. If a user wishes to not open up their network, they need to specifically indicate this. When I saw that my friend had recently joined LinkedIn, I noticed his connections were closed. I was perplexed. I thought, ‘this is the social web; the real value – in my eyes, at least – is opening up the connections to others.’ But maybe my eyes weren’t the norm.

I updated my LinkedIn status a little while ago with a short message saying that I spent some time with my friend and we engaged in this debate. Shortly after, another friend of mine (also on LinkedIn; Friend #2), send me a message. I’ll paraphrase it below:

[Re:] your comment with regard to opening up one’s LinkedIn connections […]

It is funny, but that’s one of the major criteria I use to having people in my network:
1) I’ve worked with them or known them (and enjoyed the experience)
2) they share their contacts

My feelings is [that] if they want to be part of my network and share my contacts, then they have to reciprocate. Otherwise what’s the point? If I just want one person to know my status (if I’m looking for a job or what have you), then I can email them. The whole point of LinkedIn is to leverage not just your contacts but your contact’s contacts. If people are worried about other people knowing who they know, then is LinkedIn really the place for them?

What Friend #2 is referring to here is what’s known as the strength of weak ties (description, full text). This text carries some weight – it’s one of the most heavily referenced documents in this space of network theory and social networking. I happen to share the above two criteria with Friend #2, though I do make an exception on occasion. Further, I share the follow-on points as well. The word in the description that sums it up for me is “reciprocate”. I look at this as a quid pro quo, though I’m not going to openly disparage anyone in my network who do not open their connections. This entire topic turned out to be a good discussion between Friend #1 and me.

Friend #2 continues:

I’ve had several people that more than fit the first criteria, but because they failed the second, I’ve had to send them a slightly awkward message along the lines of “sorry, I only have connections that share their contacts, so link back up if you change your settings!”. I would actually prefer LinkedIn would warn you as to whether or not they share their contacts prior to accepting (or sending) them an invitation.

Friend #2 uses an interesting approach. I’ve never done this, but am happy to know that others (okay, so n=1) do this. And I think the LinkedIn setting that Friend #2 recommends is a good one. This is a practice I might consider using.

Friend #1 explained to me when we were discussing this that he works in an industry where others salivate at getting access to additional contacts related to the industry, and the supporting ecosystem. In fact, so much so that once contacts are made open, one can get deluged with multiple, unsolicited requests for business. It becomes a hassle to not only just wade through these (the inbox functionality of LinkedIn is abysmal), but also to consider which warrant replies and which don’t. If a message goes unanswered, then people tend to be pushy, and more messages are sent. A seemingly obvious fix to this would be to appropriately tick the contact preferences (job requests, getting back in touch, etc., and not select ‘new business’). But this doesn’t guarantee anything – it only indicates one’s preferences.

Sol two interesting viewpoints. I tend to side (if I had to pick, I guess) with Friend #2, but mostly because I really agree with the approach and value the strength of weak ties and second- and third-degree networks. However, Friend #1 makes a compelling point, though I can’t fully appreciate it because I’m not in the same industry.

In closing (and in jest), surely Friend #1 must have heard this from another friend in the industry, rather than experience it first-hand. He doesn’t open up his connections – how would he know?  :)

What’s your take? Do you open your LinkedIn connections? Why or why not?

Image credit: Flickr user muilak

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  • http://lauralhale.wordpress.com/ Laura Hale

    Alan,

    I agree with Friend #2. The strength of social networking is leveraging one another’s contacts. The real issue is what our contacts do with the information. Social networking sites like LinkedIn are all about building professional relationships. From these relationships may spring business deals, employment offers, etc. Some opt to skip the relationship-building step and go straight to the “money” aspects of these contacts. That’s something we need to curb to get folks past the fear of sharing contacts.

    Laura

  • http://lauralhale.wordpress.com/ Laura Hale

    Alan,

    I agree with Friend #2. The strength of social networking is leveraging one another’s contacts. The real issue is what our contacts do with the information. Social networking sites like LinkedIn are all about building professional relationships. From these relationships may spring business deals, employment offers, etc. Some opt to skip the relationship-building step and go straight to the “money” aspects of these contacts. That’s something we need to curb to get folks past the fear of sharing contacts.

    Laura

  • http://www.subjectivelyspeaking.net Alan Belniak

    Laura, thanks for the comment. I’ve used my LinkedIn connections for many reasons, and really have come to rely upon the strength of weak ties. I hope (for discussion’s sake) that someone replies who thinks their network is better as closed – I’d like to honestly know more so I can better understand both sides of the issue.

  • http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottweissboston Scott

    I too have not opened up my LinkedIn connections and have pondered doing so ever since I set up my account. I am essentially your “Friend #1” as described.

    Despite appearing otherwise, I am not a virtual dolt (at least not always). (I know, I’m so very defensive.) I clearly see the value of using my connections (through LinkedIn and other digital, virtual and dare I say, old-fashioned face-to-face conduits) for both my personal and my connection’s benefit. However, after oft considering, I continue to feel it would be a net negative for me and for a portion of my connections to open up “the list.” Similar to those described, I have several reasons for this position including:

    1. Others ‘mining’ my connections list. As with Friend #1, I too am primarily on the buy side of the economy although I have previously worked on the supply side as a consultant/service provider. As such, a large number of my contacts fall into a sales category (including client/customer managers, business development, marketing, etc.). I have worked with nearly all of my connections (or their companies), with varying levels of success. Many would like nothing better than to mine my contacts for leads and opportunities, and have in fact told me so. If I was still a consultant, I would do the same.

    2. Others using me to their benefit (with or without my knowledge or expressed support). Even without LinkedIn, I already know of several individuals using me/my name to gain an introduction, make a pitch, etc. Some of this may be from those that have, shall I say ‘less than my full support.’ Not only would I see this happening more by opening up my LinkedIn contacts, but it would also have the potential of putting me in the middle of the equation, to make introductions or recommendations. And please understand, there are those that I would, and do, strongly support and try very hard to connect and foster growth and opportunity. But, I prefer to do it on my terms.

    3. Being cut-out of the connection. There are also opportunities where I want to be involved in making connections. With an open connections list, it is possible to be cut out of the connection/contact. Sometimes I would like to have the opportunity to make the introduction. The virtual world can truncate or even eliminate this role.

    4. Maintaining my connections’ confidence and trust. My network consist of numerous others that are perhaps in similar “buy-side” positions. I feel it is my responsibility, perhaps even obligation, to keep their information and connection to me private. I expect that they do not necessarily want every individual I know to be contacting them for work, projects, assignments, sales, etc.

    I guess as I write this out, my reservation comes down to control. I feel as though I lose control of the connections and introductions by opening up my list. By keeping the list closed, I maintain control over how and when these further connections are made. And while I, and my contacts, are therefore limited to making only the connections that I notice, foster and support, at least I, and my contacts, do not have to deal with a barrage of unwanted requests.

    Lastly, I can respect the Friend #2’s perspective on equal sharing, but I choose/accept connections based on the individual, not who they know (or are connected to).

    I continue to consider changing and opening my list up. I will do so as soon as I feel the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Thanks for the opportunity to comment.

  • http://www.subjectivelyspeaking.net Alan Belniak

    Scott,
    Thanks for sharing your opinion on the matter. With respect to point #1, I can certainly understand your viewpoint, and this helps clarify the matter to me and to anyone who reads this. With respect to point #2 (and point #3) , this is precisely the benefit of the strength of weak ties: connecting people. There may not be explicit benefit, but there is implicit benefit. Over time, if you broker, say, 100 connections between people and do not get any direct benefit out of it, wouldn’t you think that over time, people would start to value your opinion, and perhaps start introducing you to their connections? I look at this as delayed reciprocity. Some popular opinion among new media folks is that just brokering connections and offering opportunities to help will pay itself back. It is indeed a matter of control and trust. I’ve experienced this first-hand. I’ve introduced people through LinkedIn’s system, or people use my profile to scan contacts, and ask me to broker an introduction through e-mail. When I do, I’m honest about how I know that person. I’m not 100% vouching for character (though I have done that before) – I’m merely making an introduction.

    Plus, if connections are open, and an e-mail address isn’t listed in the profile, other lurkers will still need an e-mail address of the person to get introduced/add to their LinkedIn network. if they ask you to do that, and you don’t feel comfortable doing so, you can simply ignore it.

    With respect to point four, I can see where you are coming from. Do you know of anyone else in your industry who *has opened up* and *kept open* their connections? I’d be interested in seeing if it was just an initial barrage of requests, or if it was sustained.

    Thanks for the great comments.

  • http://www.nhplace.com/kent/ Kent Pitman

    I think privacy must always be a personal decision. Each person’s situation is different. Although the power to do this is available, I think you may one day come to regret it. Maybe not for yourself but for how it marginalizes others.

    People may have very good reasons to have their contacts private. It’s not the fault of those people that LinkedIn does not make it possible to set individually who is a private and who is a public contact, nor that it doesn’t make it possible to have multiple classes of acquaintances such that you can share contacts with some people you trust and some that you do not. The absence of such refined control puts people in an awkward position of all or nothing that you should not resolve by forcing them one side or another. Information, once revealed, can really never be retracted, so to force someone to reveal information that is not essential is to have an overpowerful effect for questionable good.

    To reduce it to a notion that people are lurkers or antisocial by keeping things private oversimplifies the situation and trivializes needs that may be private and personal. Some people may have safety reasons, religious reasons, time usage reasons, or other personal reasons for not wanting to reveal full information about themselves and who they know or have connections to.

    You can, of course, choose not to associate with such people. But in so doing, and especially in advocating that others should do likewise simply because of this singular criterion, you may be selecting a set of people who don’t have the aspects you imagine them to, and you may be excluding people who are fine and important people to know. Note that I’m not advocating that people not expose their connections, just that they not marginalize people who choose otherwise. Truly social behavior celebrates our differences, it doesn’t force everyone into a cookie cutter mold.

    By the way, if LinkedIn had never not had the option to make my links private, I’d never have joined. I resisted several other social communities that didn’t have this option. And I imagine certain people would never have connected to me if their connection would be public.

    I would encourage you to separate this into two different questions: (a) what’s good for me, and (b) should I impose my standards on others as a criterion of friendship/linkedness? I think the answer to (a) is open to discussion and free choice; I think (b) is something where it concerns me that people would try to act coercively, especially coercively in the direction of information release, since that’s clearly forcing people to give something up permanently; information retention is at least conservative in my mind, and subject to later amendment.

  • http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottweissboston Scott

    Thanks for your comments Kent. I appreciate and agree with your perspective. I also asked another prolific LinkedIn user about this and his response was “To me, closing one’s connections defeats the whole purpose of networking… if you’re going to be on a networking site, you should be prepared to network. That means both ways.” I found this to be intriguing.

    I am very interested in “networking.” By this I mean looking for shared and cooperative opportunities, to support colleagues and friends, and to make new meaningful connections. By not sharing my connections, I seem to be offending some and unworthy of connecting with to others. Which leaves me wondering what is the benefit of the online connections? Is it for me to be connected to you, or for me to see who you know so I take advantage of your connections? I still am not convinced that opening my connections is the best way to proceed and it leaves me asking “does networking, of any type, mean openly sharing ones contacts?”

  • Kevin

    A very interesting discussion! I agree with friend #2, however can certainly understand Scott’s situation. I think LinkedIn should give the user more control – maybe by allowing certain contacts to be labeled as “private contact”, with or without a company affiliation. That way everyone wins! You can expose contacts you feel comfortable sharing, and keep other ones private (select clients, family members, etc). Maybe we need to start dropping LinkedIn some feedback (link is at the bottom of the LinkedIn homepage). Thanks for the post / discussion!

  • http://www.subjectivelyspeaking.net Alan Belniak

    Today I was alerted to another similar post: http://virtualmarketingofficer.com/2009/11/03/linkedin-or-linked-out-making-linkedin-connections-private . If you get a moment and are still interested in the topic, stop on by and read what Jayne has to say. -Alan

  • http://www.subjectivelyspeaking.net Alan Belniak

    Laura, thanks for the comment. I’ve used my LinkedIn connections for many reasons, and really have come to rely upon the strength of weak ties. I hope (for discussion’s sake) that someone replies who thinks their network is better as closed – I’d like to honestly know more so I can better understand both sides of the issue.

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