I came across a post entitled The “Obligations” of Social Networking by Jeff Pulver. He brings up a very interesting conversation around what is the accepted practices of online networks such as LinkedIn. It is no secret that I think LinkedIn is a valuable site, see my post from a few weeks ago. But the important element to get value from such solutions is to remember that just because it is a virtual networking tool, you should follow the same networking rules that you would use normally.

Jeff’s point is a very important one in this case:

What most people on social networks fail to recognize is that in real life “an introduction is an endorsement” and yet it seems that strangers want me to forget about this in the virtual world and just make the introduction.

I subscribe to the same networking, reference and recommendation policies that I do in real life…because using tools like LinkedIn is REAL! It is another tool in the toolkit and just like any tool, it can be abused or misused. The rule of thumb I follow is add only those who you want in your network, you would connect with colleagues if it made sense, you know or had some relationship with.

Being judicious in your use of your network is the best way to a) maintain a solid network b) get the most personal value from it and c) increase the chance of those in your network to derive some plausible value from being in yours. I do not subscribe, however, to the LinkedIn conservative model such as using restriction rules like “do not network or link with anyone with over 100 connections.” My sense is arbitrary rules do not work well in most contexts. And there are many people, as I do, that really do have more than 100 people in their network. If you know over 200 people in whatever capacity you define to be valuable, then you have that many people in your network.

The sum total of my point is, social networking sites are “real life” networks. Just because it is only doesn’t mean there are different rules to follow.