The Teckki Says

Richard Buchner, of Hyde Park Systems Group, doesn't know well all of the people he is connected with on LinkedIn. That doesn't mean he doesn't know his connections. Buchner sees one of the most important features of his LinkedIn membership is that of discussion groups. As a software developer and computer systems professional, LinkedIn serves Buchner well as a place of collaboration in addition to a networking place for clients and sales.

"LinkedIn is very useful in forming connections with people I want to work with or people buying my services. The single most valuable feature is groups and discussions. Discussions are a good way to get to know people you may work with or work for," says Buchner.

Buchner has been on LinkedIn for about 2-1/2 years, and has about 280 connections. He had looked at other social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebok. He found that LinkedIn was business focused, business-like, and professional, fitting his needs more closely over the others.

He can connect with software and computer experts worldwide. In some specialties, there might be 10 – 15 experts worldwide. He says he’s more likely to meet them on LinkedIn rather than bumping into them in person. They’ve also taken the place of attending conferences in person. About four or five years ago, he used to attend 6 – 7 out-of-town conferences annually on Microsoft and/or Internet technologies. They have become less important due to the economy, and as online networks have played an important role in disseminating information.

If he is bidding on a project, he can do research with discussion groups. For example, in developing software for academic writers, he located a professor with extensive academic experience on LinkedIn, located at the Oriental Institute [in Chicago], a couple miles away from him. He doubts if he would have met him through other local connections. The professor was able to perform reasonability studies on the software. As a byproduct, Buchner learned how academic institutions purchase software. This was greatly beneficial in terms of selling and sales to that market.

Buchner has taken advantage of discussion groups, and is currently at the maximum allowed to participate in, fifty, at his membership level. He is the moderator of three of them.

As it is for any tool, LinkedIn can present some initial apprehension for those new to it. Buchner offers this advice: find groups of interest or form them – participate in discussions, find interesting people, look at their profiles to see what they say. Write your own profile. Be aware of keywords – profiles are now searchable as web content. Ease into it to see what it is like. Decide how you want to present yourself. If you participating as an employee, see how your company presents itself – it may have its own group. Note there are differences if you looking for a job or own your own business. If you are looking for employment, rules applying to openings via paper resume apply here. Ensure the truthfulness of your information, because it can be checked.

Buchner demonstrates how LinkedIn can be used to foster collaboration and communication. While LinkedIn is generally used to make connections between people who know one another, it can also be used to foster online groups and communities, to the benefit of both the individual and the group.