Tom Altman’s Wedia Conversation

UPDATE: I found this article: 12 Ways to Use Facebook Professionally - I’m not sure I totally agree with using Facebook professionally, but some of the same things apply to LinkedIn.

Published: 7/23/2007 6:57 AM
Wow - when Facebook opened up its API’s (special channels into their system which allows others to leverage their software) to the world, they took it up a notch.

I was listening to a podcast last week where a college student said many of his classmates do not even like to use email anymore - they log onto Facebook and send messages to each other from within the system. WOW - that is powerful.

Some have went as far to say “The Facebook Platform reminds many of us of Windows; and people are calling it “the social operating system” on which you can develop your Internet apps.” If this is true - we may have reached a new bar for social applications.

This one is a little scary for me, some people (cough-Lyman-cough) have called me a Microsoft fanboy…and I have been know for carrying the blue & white flag from time to time, but if you look at this guy’s research, it is pretty hard to dispute that open source IS web 2.0 at this point.

The only 2.0 site I can think of which is not here is LinkedIn, but they have “Powered by Sun” at the bottom…so that is definetly not Bill and the gang.

If you can think of any other sites…I’ll check them out and see if we can figure out what they are using.

Yup, it’s true. I have an addiction to LinkedIn. (LinkedIn is a social networking/Web 2.0 application that keeps you link, networked and connected to people you have been around in the past. Mostly work - but some college, but this is not the party site…that is Facebook.)

I had signed up for LinkedIn a while back…but never took the time to fill it out. Then, I kept seeing it bubble to the top of del.icio.us (the social bookmarking site) and so I finally broke down a put all my stuff (past jobs and schools) in - and I was hooked.

I am up to 17 connections. I want more - I spend time each day thinking of more people I can connect.

One of my favorite parts is the ability to reconnect with colleges you have lost touch with, like my friend Julie. I hadn’t spoken to her for three years…she had gotten a new job and email - and I had no clue. We connected on LinkedIn and we had a one hour email ping-pong match the other night.

So check it out, let me know - and by all means, send me an invitation to “link”.