How choosy should you be while Social Networking?

Are you choosy with whom you connect with in LinkedIn?

This question was posted by someone on the Q&A section of LinkedIn and I thought it was relevant to people who are just staring to network online. My answer will be based on LinkedIn only. Since my criteria is different in different sites I will write about this subject in a future post.

I originally started out being very choosy.  This was before I actually had a strategy for Social Networking. However once I came up with a strategy and I came up with a new premise that I wrote about on an article called “Your Only One Person Away” , I relaxed my criteria for accepting connections.

My purpose for using LinkedIn is to be a “matchmaker.” I would love to be the guy who people call me and ask: “who do you know that ….?” and then refer them to someone who does that. To do this, I need to have a rather large and diverse network. The more people I add to my network, the more people I can connect.

If someone invites me to connect and I’ve never met them, I will first look at their profile and see how many people are endorsing them and what those people are saying. If I like what I see, I respond with a message asking them why they want to connect with me. The depth of their answer will determine whether I accept the connection or not.

Once I have an interaction with someone,  i.e. they comment on one of my articles, answer one of my questions, etc. then I’m much more likely to seek a connection.

What’s your criteria?

Tagged as: LinkedIn, On the Web, Online and offline, Online Communities, Social network, Social network service, Various Artists