LinkedIn or LinkedOut?

 I found both of today’s readings to be highly intriguing, but one section particularly caught my attention.

I find the idea of different degrees of connection to be very interesting. One social community that is not shy about their employment of this idea is LinkedIn. When you search for somebody on LinkedIn, the site shows up to three levels of connection. Those that you have officially connected to are a first-degree connection. Those who are a connection of your connection are a second-degree connection, and a connection of a connection is a third degree connection. 

On multiple levels I think that this is a smart technique. On a personal level, I know that I think a lot more about whom I accept into my network. When I know that they can see that I am connected to some well-connected individuals, I have to ask myself if I would be comfortable connecting these two people. For example if A and C are both first-degree connections of mine (I am B in this scenario), would I as B be comfortable connecting A and C? Unfortunately for all of my acquaintances, the answer is not always yes. 

 

Some may argue that Facebook is the same way. Facebook does connect people through the idea of “mutual friends.” However, I would argue that this is a far tamer strategy. While somebody may friend me as a friend of a friend on Facebook, Facebook is a far more social site with more social intentions. Regardless, LinkedIn has caused me to reassess my criteria for Facebook requests as well.

Assuming such exclusivity is being taken to account, LinkedIn is an extremely powerful tool. Assuming that every person also keeps a tight network, we are a far more professionally connected society. And further considering the competitiveness of the job market today, that cannot be a bad thing.

So I pose the question: have professional networks such as LinkedIn caused a greater feeling of connection selectiveness amongst the general population?