Know Who You Are, As Well As Your Connections

I like to keep up with my connections and in this case, LinkedIn, so when I see a post from a connection that's interesting I normally share, like, comment, depending on the post.

Checking the profiles of these same connections is also useful, to see if they have changed job, position in current job, etc. I also check the recommendations and endorsements and these are often somewhat puzzling, at least to me.

One of the things I often share to people who use online platforms to connect is - stay true to who you are, and be who you are online and face to face. But I still get surprised on occasion when I meet someone for a coffee after building a relationship online and the person sitting opposite me is a complete stranger and nothing like they are online!

The other thing I notice is the endorsements do not always fit the person who is being endorsed. An example might be "communication, or marketing" but after meeting someone a few weeks ago who has an almost identical endorsements to the two I used as examples, I cannot understand why they are being endorsed for that skill-set:(

I understand that communication online might be different to face to face, I do not count myself as an expert in this area, but surely if you can communicate online effectively, it can't be that difficult to communicate during a conversation over coffee?

Endorsements and recommendations are getting out of hand, people are not checking out who they are connected to, and in some cases do not even care as it is about quantity not quality.

If you don't know who you are connected to but endorse them it could backfire and come back to bite you somewhere and that could hurt your reputation as well as the person you endorsed.

Use LinkedIn effectively and consistently to find out about your connections and check back every now and then to see what's changed, who they are connecting to, see if they need any help, or just generally stay in touch with them. If you feel this is too much work you are probably wasting your time on LinkedIn, and this could also mean you are wasting your time on other social media platforms too as you have no idea why you are there in the first place.