Social networks can serve a variety of purposes from general to targeted communication. As Facebook has grown it has evolved from a solely social connection, mainly for young people, to a platform for communication among a wide variety of users including individuals, businesses, and groups. Depending on a users' "likes" their news feed can be filled with news from friends and family, local and national news, advertisements and promotions.
While Facebook is wide-reaching, sometimes a more targeted network is better suited for certain communication. A particularly focused social network is LinkedIn -- designed to promote connections based on professional experience. I have been aware of LinkedIn for quite a while, but only recently created a basic profile. With only a few years of library experience, I hadn't felt the need for a professional social network account, but now that I've begun a MLS program, I can see that having a way to connect with and share ideas with other library professionals will be useful. For example, LinkedIn would be useful to keep in touch with classmates after a course ends and we no longer communicate through coursework. For IUPUI's School of Informatics and Computing, maintaining a social network presence can build awareness of its programs and serve as a common digital meeting place for faculty, staff and students in its varied programs.
A few months ago my husband set aside some time to enhance his LinkedIn profile with a more detailed explanation of his experience and a greater effort at connecting with colleagues. He quickly re-connected with a former colleague who happened to be looking to add to his staff and wanted someone with particular experience and a known work record. Although they had lost track of one another, LinkedIn provided the forum to reconnect and, in this case, resulted in my husband joining his former colleague's new company. A professional social network like LinkedIn seems especially useful in a career area with a lot of mobility, like engineering project management. My husband and his colleagues truly have a network that exists outside of their current employers and being able to stay in touch is very valuable as they end up moving between employers or acting as contractors depending on the location and time frame of particular projects. LinkedIn provides a useful and appropriate forum for sharing professional information.
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