chain link fence

Business 2.0 magazine recently called it "MySpace-for-grown-ups." I first heard of LinkedIn a month ago when I got an invitation to join from a friend who works for the local architecture firm of Michael Brady Inc. (no, not that Mike Brady). I got a second notice today, telling me that the invitation was about to expire. I had a few minutes to spare before going to pick up the carpool at school, so I signed up. In the past, I've ignored several invitations to join other networking websites and now I'm feeling a little guilty about not responding. I think the reason I joined this time was the way my architect friend worded her invitation. She wrote:

I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn. This is a networking site and my husband and I are in a battle to see who can have more contacts. I am going for breadth of contacts instead of bombarding all of my coworkers. I think you are a great addition to my little network. Help me kick my husband's butt. It is free and a little bit addictive. :)

While clicking around on LinkedIn, I found a former GMU classmate and a former co-worker from The River. However I didn't really need a networking site to find either of them. I still exchange emails with both. In addition, the former classmate always sends a Christmas card with a new photo of her twins. And the former co-worker does an excellent podcast that I should listen to more often. I do try to check her blog more regularly. I'll admit that it's because I don't have to pause the TiVo to read a blog like I would with a podcast.