Last week, I met LinkedIn’s blogger (Mario Sundar) in person. LinkedIn was one of the first “social networks” I ever joined, if I remember correctly. I noted their new “Answers” section and decided to pitch out a simple question: Why do you like and/or use LinkedIn? :)

The responses started to stream in:

Barrie Harrop: “it works for me, done so many deals, made so many new contracts. forgot to mention reference to below Springwise came from Linkedin, power of the web over 45,000 hits on web page, plus huge number of applicants.”

Ajay Juneja: “It helps me keep track of everyone :) Great for hiring people or doing reference checks on them too!”

Sheilah Etheridge: “Because the members are a wonderful group of people and unlike other networking sites the human side shows here. We all freely share our knowledge and help one another. That can only be a positive in anyones life.”

Matt Newman: “In my industry – recruitment and Talent Acquisition – its very hard to find great candidates – LinkedIn gives me the opportunity to network with people and get referrals – these people are more useful than any candidate applying to a job because they have been referred by someone who knows them!”

Sean Blake: “It’s perfect for keeping in touch with programmers and editors here in Utah. The jobs and hiring function is quite nice also.”

Anna Rajsman: “It is a perfect tool to make business connections and maintain relations.”

Martin Czebotar: “I enjoy meeting new people (virtually) and using these connections to help others in transition. It is a great source of information through Answers.”

Chris Spera: “I use it for networking… Howard Sobel and Larry McJunkin turned me on to it. I like it for all of the job and networking opportunities it brings. I prefer Plaxo to manage and sync contacts, but LinkedIn is great for networking.”

Heather Krey: “I am a teacher and use it to keep in touch with my former students. It’s a great way to learn when they get a degree or a new job. I also hope to use it to find guest lecturers for my statistics class. Unfortunately, I haven’t had any luck with that yet.”

Bruce Kane: “I’ve found it very useful for finding potential recruits for my company and new business. We get a bonus for successful hires and a percentage of the sales. One new hire so far, others in the pipeline. :-)”

Tom Siegler: ” ‘Met’ some interesting people. Have some free time while looking for the next gig. It’s a nice change of pace/distraction, particularly the Answers. Might be useful some day.”

Ammon Beckstrom: ” I use LinkedIn for a couple of reasons: 1) It helps me keep tabs on my friends and colleagues 2) It helps me expand my network of professional contacts 3) I’ve gotten and given referrals that have resulted in real career opportunities. I like LinkedIn because, for me, it does a great job of what it is supposed to do.”

Aaron Wester: ” Good fall back – think of it as a safety net.”

LaurieAnne Lassek: ” Hi Chris. I like LinkedIn because it is a trusted repository of professionals; people with whom I want to stay in touch, learn of job changes, or progress. I actually think its very intuitive and easy to use, with some of the newer features. Also helps if I need to reach someone, and cannot locate current contact information – most likely, one of my connections will be able to help!”

Deryck Shepherd: ” It’s the only network I’m a member of that has a practical use. Not only does it let me keep in touch with my contacts, friends and old colleagues it lets them find me.”

Elaine Grabicki: ” I agree with the ‘myspace for grownups’ characterization. It’s great way to keep track of people – especially as everyone changes jobs – & I rely on it when hiring & making referrals. Only thing that bugs me: the people that are trying to get thousands of connections, then reach out for favors as if we have a personal connection of some kind.”

David Nason: ” I use LinkedIn to manage my professional networking… I like LinkedIn because of the number of “efriends” I’ve made: Sheilah, Ray, Bruce, Chris, among others… I have met some very interesting people in the past several months, some of whom I will likely have a form of business relationship or dealings with in the future.”

Dave Etchells: “I’m new to using LinkedIn (currently helping my son network to find a summer internship in VC or Investment Banking), but like the way it provides a framework for the whole 6 degrees of separation thing to work. People have also been very friendly and helpful: There seems to be a willingness to help out others on the network, with the understanding/expectation that someday you might need help or a connection also. Neat system!”

Cathy Brooks: “I can’t say that I use it heavily but in several cases lately I’ve reconnected with long-time colleagues and also managed to update my Rolodex, so it’s helpful It’s no replacement for building relationships the old-fashioned way – no technology-based social network can replace direct human contact – but used properly it’s a great tool to augment and maintain the relationships you have”

Jesper Stuhr: “for me its a way to say HEY I´M HERE, to expand my relation network, to meet new people and to be part of life.”

…what about you?

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