LinkedIn: So Powerful that even the creators DON'T GET IT

There are two schools of thinking in business networking that I learned and paraphrase from Ferrazzi's book Never Eat Alone:

1. I earned the right to know all of these muckity mucks and you don't have any right to ask me to share that with you because you aren't worthy enough and since I wont share because I am afraid to lose that piece of my pie that is my network you wont every become worthy asking me to help you.
2. I know that everyone I meet is precious and a valuable link in my network. You may not have something to offer me or anyone in my network of value yet, but you know people I want to be introduced to and whom I can help and I know people you want to get introduced to.

The founder of LinkedIn is in the first camp.

I am in the second camp.

The sad part is that the founder of LinkedIn doesn't get what I do for him. One of the stats you see on emails from LinkedIn when someone invites you to connect is that 23 people join linkedin every minute.

I know. I am a huge part of that. I drag everyone I know or meet in business kicking and screeming into linkedin and help them take the best advantage of it.

Sadly the founder of Linkedin is deluded and things he earned the $100s of millions making Linkedin himself and doesn't give any of us little people any credit.

He doesn't know that I have introduced billionaires to linkedin. He doesn't know that I have driven sales of his upgrade options even though I don't recommend them as they are not worth crap. He doesn't know that his advertising sales have been hugely impacted by my interaction with linkedin.

Poor guy's deluded.

He has a big head, really. But, he even has a big ego.

I offered to introduce him to some of the powerful people in my linkedin network which might have even helped his pocketbook, but what does he do?

"I DON'T KNOW" button.

If you don't know this, the "I Don't Know" button on invites (aka IDK) is a major slap on the wrist of anyone you push that on. Obviously, this founder of a powerful tool doesn't get the first thing about the power of networks and hasn't ever read Never Eat Alone by Ferrazzi. Putz.

I never get negative like this, but LinkedIn has got to learn to stop spitting in the face of those who are advocating LinkedIn to their networks.

Am I quitting LinkedIn? Not yet. I can use it and have to increase revenues and drive charity donations to my favorite charity to the tune of millions. Despite the backwards thinking at LinkedIn I will use it until they shoot their own foot and make it impossible for me to get any benefit out of it and then I will go on to the next social networking site that makes more sense and invite all of my linkedin contacts to abandon that dead horse.

Until that time, I'd love to show you how I have been able to get the results I have.

Eric Standlee