1001 Good Things About LinkedIn.

Reasons Not to Give Up on LinkedIn.

I've looked for other places where we might recreate the golden days of LinkedIn for professional networking and lead generation. For now, there still isn't anywhere like it. Certainly not Facebook, not Google+ (it's great but it's just not the cut and thrust of business at the hard end), not Twitter ("selling by yelling"), not Pinterest (but don't dismiss it, it's going to be really important). MosiacHub has the potential but it just hasn't reached critical mass, not by a long way. There are other possibilities, like Carii, which are becoming the new places to gather.

But for right now, for me, LinkedIn is simply my place of business and it's time I faced it. We have to distinguish LinkedIn, the place, the network, from the car crash that is "LinkedIn" the company. I'm taking them to task for ruining it for so many businesses, simply due to the lack of regard for what we the users need and want. They are driving users away in droves and one only has to read those comments on social media from ex-users, to see the facts of the matter. They seem to forget that it is us, the users, who are the real LinkedIn. The tail does not wag the dog.

The 1001 reasons why I am staying with it are the connections I've made through LinkedIn over the years and still make every day. OK, so I haven't counted exactly, I chose 1001 as it is about the number of connections I have currently. But it's not really those LinkedIn connections which count. It is the connections in the real world with real people, not their electronic avatars, met through using LinkedIn properly as a professional network. So many people I would never, ever have encountered by any other means. So many clients, business partners, collaborators, professional networkers and mentors (and even celebrities!). Most importantly, so many good and lasting friendships I've made. Yes, there are more reasons to stick at it then leave, for now. Perhaps closer to a million than a thousand. Those reasons are each of the people who still make the network. There is still hope.

The reason is, you the Users, of course! You are what makes LinkedIn worth fighting the good fight for.