LinkedIn Connection Requests: Do’s and One Very Big Don’t

Jan 11

April HaymanNetworking, Professional, Social Media, Technology , , , , 2 Comments

LinkedIn, for those who haven’t heard of it, is a professional networking site. It is a good place to put your resumé and interact with others in your field (you know…networking). Besides the basic purpose of the site, I find the Connections a fascinating study. It’s six degrees of separation at its finest and you never know who you might be connected to through someone you already know. And, if you don’t know someone, you can always ask for a “connection”.

Which brings me to the “one very big don’t” part of this blog post’s title. If you are going to ask someone for a connection, do not under any circumstance, send the following default message:

Because, if you do, what you really send is:

*inhales deeply to calm herself*

Okay, maybe that was a bit overboard. There are times when I’ve sent out the default message. But, and this is a big exception, it was only to someone I already knew and was expecting the invitation.

When I am not on a first name basis with the potential contact, though, I always send a short and polite note letting the person know why I am asking for the connection and anything we may have in common.

The default LinkedIn message is like the following video (if you substitute LinkedIn for Facebook, that is):

You might have something in common with them and, potentially, could even make a great connection, but without a personal and meaningful interaction, the conversation cannot even start.

So, to get the conversation started, you need to do the following:

  • Do make the effort to get to know the person before requesting the connection. LinkedIn is not a popularity contest and quality really is better than quantity.
  • Do look to people outside of your immediate field for connections. You never know what will inform your practice next.
  • Do contact the potential contact through their blog or Twitter and strike up a conversation before you ask them to connect with you on LinkedIn. That way, you are no longer a stranger when you send the request.
  • Do be polite and spell/grammar check your request.

The bottom line is that I really like using LinkedIn, meeting new people, and making those networking connections but I won’t answer plain old, default LinkedIn requests. Do us both a favor and make it interesting and polite. Showing an interest in the person you’re trying to connect with never hurts either!

~April

You may connect with me on LinkedIn. See above post for connection requests.

My Predictions for Learning Trends for 2010

Jan 01

April HaymanFeatured, Opinion No Comments

In my crystal ball, the future is murky…so very very murky…but wait! It clears just a bit. Listen carefully for this is what I see:

  1. a redefinition of the terms “teacher” and “student” and “subject matter expert” because of open source content
  2. the emergence of a new marketplace system dependent upon open source resources and content
  3. open source software accepted on its own merits and not as a “poor cousin”
  4. connections between ourselves (personal), each other (social), and networks (technological) becoming ubiquitous and it will seem odd if someone doesn’t have some kind of mobile or computing device on their person at all times
  5. social learning becoming a buzzword
  6. e-books and e-textbooks increase in popularity and online library resources increase
  7. real time communication, through Twitter, texting, etc., leveraged by teachers in the classroom
  8. collaboration becomes the norm rather than the exception as educators and colleagues use wikis and Google Wave to communicate and create
  9. young people becoming meaning-makers and being taken seriously for their efforts, interest, and contributions
  10. social action combining with learning to make a positive change while learners receive hands on education

I am not the only one making predictions! Here is one that I hope comes with goggles and a really cool nerf gun mod:

edupunk

So, what does your crystal ball tell you?

Kinetic Typography

Dec 29

April HaymanMultimedia, e-Learning, instructional design , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Ever seen the very cool YouTube video “The Machine is Us/ing Us“? If you have, you’ve already experienced kinetic typography. In general, kinetic typography is a mix of motion and text and can include music or voice overs. I know that when I watch this type of video I am more inclined to pay attention to the information or what the author has to say than if it is just music, just motion, or just text. I’m not sure if you could do an entire course this way, but wouldn’t it be interesting to use kinetic typography as a central theme?

I could certainly see it used as a way to engage students and then offer them directions in which to explore the topic at hand. And, if using a social platform like an Elgg installation, the learning could be social as well.

Here are a few examples: More

Older Entries Newer Entries

``