Online Social Networking is all the rage these days. Being in the technology industry, I feel an obligation to keep up with major technology trends. So, I've jumped in by taking LinkedIn and Facebook for an extended test drive.
LinkedIn is who you are
LinkedIn is a resume board. It lets you post an enhanced resume and to selectively share it with your friends and the public. Beyond the standard resume items, you can post recommendations to others' resume and vice versa. It's a combination of resume and recommendation letters in a clean package. You can see my LinkedIn profile here.
LinkedIn connects you with your colleagues. It enables you to establish connections with your business associates. You can use this to meet other people through their network. I've never used this feature, but I can see how that could be handy in business situations where you are looking to get a "foot in the door". Beyond making new connections, I have not found much utility in these connections.
Facebook is what you do
Facebook is "lifecasting." Your profile is very limited -- no extended resume like LinkedIn. Instead, Facebook lets you post comments, pictures, videos, links to websites, etc. As you post these items, it shows up on your "news feed." So, your presence in Facebook less about who you claim yourself to be and more about what you post. Your behavior defines your persona.
Facebook is personal. Your items are only available to your friends. So, it's a safe way to share personal information. I think it's a great way to share photos with your friends. I'm hesitant to use Facebook for business use because it's so personal.
Facebook gets you reconnected. In my short time using Facebook, I've reconnected with a bunch of college and high school friends I've not spoken with in 20 years. We just drifted away from each other. Facebook made it easy to find these friends, connect with them, and then stay connected. It's amazing in that respect.
Facebook is entertaining. Unlike LinkedIn, I find it entertaining to log into Facebook. On the main page, I can see what my friends have been up to -- I see a consolidated listing of all my friends' postings. And most items allow for comments making it more interactive and fun.
For example, my friend Tom posted a video of his son doing some tricks on his skateboard. I clicked the link and was able to see the video. Then I posted a comment complementing his son on the tricks and Tom on the videography. Tom got an email right away and responded to my comment with one of his own.
Facebook is hard to navigate. Good luck trying to find anything that's not on the main feed. I find the user interface confusing and it's even hard to find the stuff that I've posted.
Facebook is an applications platform. There are a million little applications that you can add to your Facebook account. To me, most have little value. For example, there's a "pieces of flair" application that enables you to post virtual buttons on your own and others virtual corkboard. Big deal. And I think you have to share your personal information with the application provider, which I don't like. But lots of people like these little apps and find it to be a fun way to stay connected. I should be more open-minded about these applications. But as of today, I don't get it.
Facebook vs. LinkedIn: which to choose?
Both are social networks, but there's no need to choose between the two. Each is unique and complements the other. Definitely post your resume on LinkedIn to connect with your business colleagues and use Facebook to stay connected with your close friends.
I like the format of this one -- a nice summary of these two maturing social networks. The Internet has really created a lot of opportunity for innovation. If we all work smarter, then it can also help us overcome many of the challenges related to the current economic climate.
Posted by: Chris DeMartine | October 01, 2008 at 08:34 AM
I agree, Facebook and LinkedIn are both valuable. I'd like to add that Facebook has a great feature called a Fan Page which allows businesses to interact with their customers and prospects. They also allow you to keep your personal life on Facebook separate from your business life on Facebook.
From 'your Facebook informant'...
Posted by: Kimberly Yow | September 24, 2009 at 05:36 PM
I like this summary. You would be surprised about the amount of HR professionals in the United States that use Facebook and LinkedIn to screen job applicants. According to a recent survey, from those HR practitioners that use some form of social media to screen job applicants, 29% use Facebook and 26% use Linkedin.
For a list of what gets you the job and what doesn't see http://tinyurl.com/nosy-hr
Posted by: twitter.com/idaconcpts | September 24, 2009 at 08:13 PM
Thanks for this thumbnail sketch. It was quite helpful to me.
Posted by: Peter Gonczlik | September 28, 2009 at 10:47 AM
A general rule of thumb I use is
LinkedIn is your work
Facebook is your home
MySpace is the local bar...
http://cuzziol.blogspot.com
Posted by: gianfranco | September 30, 2009 at 02:22 AM
That's a great analogy with home, work, and bar. Helps visualization.
Posted by: Joseph Pych | September 30, 2009 at 08:32 AM
I am new to the facebook and linked just starting to learn but this summary give me more ideas how to use them
Posted by: abdel | September 30, 2009 at 07:55 PM
I for one would like to re- sort my tribes as you post: business for LinkedIn and Faceboom for friends and family. But many, many business contacts are mainly Facebook members. Wondering if anyone has successfully accomplished this grouping after the members were signed on?
Posted by: John Mallrn | October 02, 2009 at 12:06 AM
I believe that Facebook now has features that allow you to set up groups. I've not used it much myself, but it may help you to segregate your beer drinking college buddies from esteemed business associates on Facebook through sharing controls. But of course you have to be careful with that setup.
Unfriending a business colleague in Facebook is awkward, but seems to be acceptable when coupled with a Linkedin invitation.
Posted by: Joseph Pych | October 02, 2009 at 12:38 PM
More than 65 million visitors checked out career sites in June 2009. About 45% of HR professionals in the United States are using at least one social network to check on those leads.
A summer 2009 survey for CareerBuilder.com conducted by New York based research firm, Harris Interactive, indicates that 47% of U.S. HR professionals use Google to search for the names of their job candidates. 29% of U.S. HR professionals use Facebook and only 26% use LinkedIn to check on the job applications that they receive.
This is bad news for Linkedin because they claim to provide a service to benefit and advance their registered user’s career.
Read more about why it appears that LinkedIn is beating Facebook at its own game.
http://bit.ly/5lRKV2
Posted by: Damian Davila Rojas | January 28, 2010 at 07:46 PM
That's interesting. I wonder how many HR pros use check on twitter. People are less careful with that.
Posted by: Joseph Pych | January 29, 2010 at 08:47 AM