I've been a LinkedIn member
for a pretty long time. People use LinkedIn in different ways. Some are trying
to amass the largest possible network (i.e. the most "connections"). Others are
simply using it as a search tool to find opportunities.
My general practice has
been to limit the size of my network in order to keep the signal to noise ratio
pretty high. As such, I only connect to people that I know personally or have
had some personal or professional dealings with.
One aspect of LinkedIn that
I think is underused is their concept of groups. Basically, a group is a
sub-network within LinkedIn for a specific area of interest. For example, I'm a
member of several groups, including several affiliated with MIT (where I was a
graduate student last year).
Several months ago, a
number of members of the OnStartups community asked if I might setup a group
that could be used by entrepreneurs to network and connect with each other. I
thought it was a good idea, and put in the request. After a bit of back and
forth with LinkedIn, the group is now setup.
So, why would you want to
join the OnStartups LinkedIn group?
5 Great Reasons To
Join The OnStartups LinkedIn Group
1. Find other people in
your area interested in startups (even if you live in the middle of
nowhere).
2. See if you can locate a
co-founder for your maniacally brilliant startup idea.
3. Recruit unsuspecting
victims to join your startup team
4. Locate a promising
startup to join and try your hand at this whole entrepreneurship
thing.
5. Find funding for your
current startup so you don't have to beg and plead with your friends and
family.
Of course, you may find
your own creative uses as well (such as using it as a gauge for the level of
entrepreneurial activity in a given area).
So, how do you join the
OnStartups LinkedIn group? It's easy (and free). Simply register for an
account here at OnStartups.com. This will give you access to the OnStartups
forums where there is a link in the announcements area to join the group. This
is the preferred way (and I'll immediate approve members that use this
mechanism).
Another option is to submit
a request directly to join the group by clicking the link
below:
Of course, the value of the
group increases with the number of passionate startup people that join. So, if
you are a member of digg, reddit or other social networking sites, please help
spread the word by voting on this article on those sites. If you have ideas or
comments on how we might use the group more effectively, please leave a
comment.