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.

2009 in Review

Dec 20

April HaymanOpinion, Reviews, Uncategorized, e-Learning , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

The Learning Circuits’ Big Question for December 2009 is “what did you learn about learning in 2009?”

Wow, what a tough question. Overall, I realized that learning is not what I thought it was. I think that the following five “aha moments” show what I learned about learning this year:

1. I’ll never know all the information I want in a tangible and applicable way even if I stay up 72 hours in a row going through tutorials, using software, asking questions, or reading. I learned that I have limits (nooooo! said the SuperMom) and am better for it. Now I can focus on the stuff that matters.

2. I have doubts about the learning styles veracity. There. I said it. The whole concept of visual, auditory, kinesthetic learning is too pat, too neat to explain the myriad wonders of the human brain, nervous system and how we process information. If you agree/disagree with that statement, feel free to post a comment and let the discussion begin!

3. The attention that my posts on developing an e-portfolio for instructional designers humbled me. It was a topic that, apparently, needed exploration and I am glad that I was able to offer a springboard for others in my field.

4. Social networking is not just for saying “hi” to long-lost college buddies. It is a means to learn in any byte size needed (Twitter, blogging, Digg, Delicious, etc). I learned more about instructional design within the past few months watching tweets come through Twhirl than I had in the previous six months before using Twitter. Social learning is the next step in e-learning (if it isn’t already).

5. Open source, open learning, open everything is something that resonates with me. I have learned more about open source in this past year than I realized after conversing with a colleague. This will most likely be the focus of my dissertation (yes, I began my PhD this year).

Now for my top posts, as determined by number of hits. Since I moved my blog recently to a hosted solution, some of the following links will point back to my original blog (aprilhayman.wordpress.com).

What I learned most, though, was that the community created, supported, and participated in by educators is second to none. You are a fabulous group of people who have given me food for thought and made me excited to learn from you about what you do, how you do it, and why you do it. I want to thank each you for the selfless giving of your time and energy.

I can’t wait for 2010!

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