Earlier this month, I asked readers for their experiences of professional networking websites. Having used these responses to shape my questioning of bosses at LinkedIn and Xing, two huge players in this field, I’ve come to the conclusion that such sites can benefit users in two major ways - as long as they avoid two big pitfalls.

Below is a summary of these pros and cons, with input from Lars Hinrichs, the founder and chief executive of Xing, and Kevin Eyres, the European managing director of LinkedIn (as Mr Eyres is based in London, I was also able to conduct a 9-minute audio interview with him). It’s a long post but please bear with me!

Benefit one: a complement to face-to-face networking

Networking sites can unearth new business opportunities, particularly for the self-employed. They can allow users to make the most of their time at face-to-face events such as conferences, as well as keeping them abreast of job moves affecting clients, colleagues and competitors. Members can also pick the brains of experts they don’t know - it is hard to think of a better example of this than the one supplied by Louis Turner.

But there is still a need to keep one’s network to a manageable size. Mr Hinrichs says he only accepts those he knows personally into his own network. That said, he still has more than 2,000 contacts.

The Xing boss dismisses my initial concern that online networking might be mainly relevant to freelance workers and consultants and not so useful for employees at big companies, arguing that, to some extent, we are all freelance now because the broader economy is ”moving to a project-oriented way of thinking”.

He adds that many of Xing’s members inside big companies use the site to track down colleagues they need to deal with on a particular project - a trend that perhaps reflects badly on the usefulness of expensive corporate intranets.

So what is the optimum size of an online network? LinkedIn’s Kevin Eyres suggests that critical mass is reached after 30-40 connections. But add too many contacts and your network becomes meaningless. “We really think that the optimal number is hundreds not thousands and thousands.”

To get away from the idea that size is everything, LinkedIn doesn’t display the exact number of contacts someone has when they have accumulated more than 500. It is just listed as “500+” connections.

Benefit two: new tools for recruitment

Networking sites are a great shop window. For the restless, they offer a steady stream of vacant positions. For recruiters, they offer a steady stream of active job seekers as well as people who, in Mr Hinrichs’ words, ”are not looking for a job but might be open to offers”.

The sites can also be used by employers to find referees that worked with someone they are thinking of hiring. However, the ready-made recommendations that are posted on many users’ LinkedIn profiles - ‘Adam was such a great guy to work with’ - can be the subject of suspicion.

“Recommendations by nature are going to be positive,” replies Mr Eyres. If the recommendations are misleading, they can be challenged, he adds. Regardless, it is unlikely that recruiters would put undue weight on such off-the-shelf endorsements.

Pitfall one: privacy issues

Networking sites tend to give their users various privacy options. Users can stop their lists of friends from being viewed by others, for instance, or they can opt to prevent their profile from being discovered by search engines. They can also go one step further by opting to make themselves invisible to people they don’t know, creating a closed network. 

However, the wary might not like to take it on trust that sensitive details are being hidden. On Facebook, for instance, I’ve found it useful to create a second, dummy profile, that I log on to in order to see what others can see of my main listing. It’s a good idea to keep telephone numbers, email addresses and your physical address off your profile.

Privacy issues can also be tackled by running a profile on one networking site for friends and family, and another profile on a second network for professional contacts and colleagues. “That’s happening more and more,” says Mr Eyres.

Leaving isn’t always as straightforward as it should be, alas. Deactivation doesn’t mean deletion at Facebook, for instance. Those who want to close their LinkedIn account have to ask customer services and then wait for a response.

Encouragingly, those who have a basic profile on Xing can delete it themselves by going to this page but premium-level subscribers have to email customer services too.

Pitfall two: professional confidentiality issues 

How frank should employees be when talking online with contacts about issues they face in their jobs? It’s a tough one to answer definitively. 

Mr Eyres says that LinkedIn members often receive little tips on how to optimise their business from counterparts at other companies within the same industry. They might get ideas on how to run their production line better, for instance.

“Is that competitive information? If you were at a conference and you were sitting down talking, those types of things would come up in a discussion group. We always say use your best judgment [when trying to decide whether something is too sensitive to share].”

It is hard to disagree with this advice. One doesn’t need to be an evangelist for the open source movement to realise that seeking external help can sometimes be less risky than ploughing on in isolation.

Well, thanks for reading this far. It is almost certain that I have missed something so please keep offering feedback.

You can listen to the audio interview with Kevin Eyres of LinkedIn by clicking here.

April 15th, 2008 in Audio interviews, Human resources, Networking, Technology | Permalink