Using LinkedIn: Should you keep your connections private?
ByWhen setting up your LinkedIn profile, you have the option of keeping your connection list private or public. Having them set to public doesn’t mean everyone in the world can see them; only your LinkedIn connections can see your other connections.
What are the pros and cons of keeping your LinkedIn list public?
If you keep your list public, it allows your other connections to browse your list. For those who favor the public setting, this is the major pro.
Why?
Say you and I are connected on LinkedIn and you are looking to meet John Smith. John Smith is an important person in your industry and you’d like to meet him. You could go to his website, find his contact information and call him cold.
But you’d rather have an introduction to warm up the call. So you do a search on LinkedIn and discover I’m connected to John Smith (because my connections are public). You can then send me a message asking me to introduce you.
People who favor keeping their connections private, feel letting their connections see their list as a major con. First, they feel strongly that they should respect the privacy of those who have agreed to connect. It’s a matter of professional courtesy. Second, they are worried about connection sluts – people who try to amass a large number of connections with out truly connecting or getting to know anyone.
What are the pros and cons of keeping your list private?
Keeping your connect list private limits your ability to help your network. In a recent discussion on LinkedIn about this topic, one responder commented that a number of his connections received job offers they never would have gotten without his connection list being public.
A private list prevents you – and your connections – from being inundated with introduction requests and unwanted emails. It ensures you are only getting messages from people you know and want to hear from.
How do you decide?
Making the decision to keep your LinkedIn connections public or private really depends on why you’re on LinkedIn and who your connections are. If your connections are all celebrities and CEOs of Fortune 100 companies – people who don’t have time for the general riff raff – then you should keep your connections private.
On the other hand, if you are the general riff raff, and want to connect with others and help others make connections then keep your list public.
I personally feel that if someone is genuinely interested in true networking, then they are a valuable connection to me, regardless of who they are or what they do. I never know who will be able to help me or who I might be able to help. If keeping my connection list public helps one person in my network land a new job, get a new client or hire a better supplier then it’s worth it.
Andrea J. Stenberg
What do you think? Should you keep your connection list public or private? Please leave a comment and share your thoughts.
If all I wanted was to connect directly to “you” (the person I’m connecting with), I could do that myself in my own address book. Why would I need LinkedIn?
Keeping your list private is just selfish.
I have never heard the term “Connection Sluts” before…Hmmmm??
Leah,
I hadn’t heard the term either. Until I asked my LinkedIn network what they thought about public versus private connections. I liked the term because it really makes the point (plus it made me laugh).
Andrea
It is a comical term – I only commented because it raised my eyebrow.
Hi Andrea,
Question on Public vs Private & my understanding based on your article.
Public: All of my Linkedin contacts can see each others profile.
Private: None of my Linkedin contacts can see each others profile… only I can.
Am I correct?
Thank you. I found your article very interesting.
Keeping your connections private defeats the entire purpose of having a social networking site.
I think have your contacts set as private takes away much of the value of LinkedIn. As Rick says, you might as well just keep these people in your address book.
The idea is to be able to grow your connections (in order to increase access to more people that you can work with, for, or that can recommend you).
Keeping your list public helps facilitate that growth.
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