Thursday, April 9, 2009

OCC Week 1: LinkedIn

For the first week of the TSPRA OCC, we will tackle one of the greatest current online networking tools - LinkedIn. The base of LinkedIn is like an online contact manager. It's also a great place to share work experience/expertise, and to make connections with others with similar interests. TSPRA, as an organization, currently has no representation on LinkedIn. Our executive director, Judy Farmer, is a member and several other TSPRA members are using the site, but there is no formal way to connect as TSPRA members.

Assignments:

TUESDAY - Sign up for LinkedIn here. At the least, enter your current job information. Then search for and connect with three other TSPRA folks.(Hint: Judy Farmer and I are members. If you can't find a third, email me.) Then, please click on the comment link below and share your thoughts.(Remember, this is a public blog when commenting.) That's all for today, but feel free to click around within the service if you like.

WEDNESDAY - Today we will look at groups. Please join the newly created TSPRA group on LinkedIn. (I will have to approve you before you can get in there and play around, but I'll do it quick.) Feel free to invite your contacts. Also, if you'd like, add a topic of discussion in the group. Share your thoughts of the potential for this TSPRA group and how it can be used. Also, if you have any experience with other LinkedIn groups, what worked best for them or didn't work so well? Thanks again. Tomorrow we'll talk about real implementation of LinkedIn.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY - Today and tomorrow, we will discuss the real application of LinkedIn for TSPRA. Please answer the following questions in the comments. (I'll use your feedback to develop our official recommendation for LinkedIn.)
1. Who should manage the TSPRA LinkedIn group?
2. How much time do you feel will be required?
3. Where/how should TSPRA advertise its presence on LinkedIn, if at all?
4. Do you see LinkedIn more as a tool for communicating with members or for recruiting new members/promoting the organization? Both? Neither?
5. What role and/or regular interaction should the TSPRA Executive Director and Board have with the service, if any?

Lastly, thank you very much for your participation this week. We'll tackle blogs next week and go from there. - Terry


Helpful LinkedIn videos, posts, etc. -

How to Use LinkedIn by Jake Swearingen on Bnet.com

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great job getting this rocking Terry!

Charlotte LaGrone said...

I love using web-based technology to stay connected! LinkedIn is very easy to use and is similar to Facebook.


This is a great project for TSPRA. Can't wait for the next assignment!

Dave Nielsen said...

I looked at LinkedIn a while back, but I wasn't looking for a job then and there didn't seem to be as many people on there. Now, there seem to be many more people on the site, and I can see how the site could be useful whether or not someone is looking for a job at the moment.

After a little bit of playing around, I think that LinkedIn looks like an amazing way to maintain a professional profile. I thought the ads were obtrusive because they weren't separated from the real content...the entire design feels much busier and seems to have less whitespace than something like Facebook or Twitter. I wasn't sure what category to choose when connecting with Terry and Judy. There's no TSPRA group, so I wasn't allowed to choose group/organization. The number of people on here is key -- sites like this require a lot of active members to really be effective.

Overall, pretty neat and mostly very intuitive and easy to use. Could TSPRA use LinkedIn? I think it would be a good idea to recommend that members setup profiles (and maybe there could be an official TSPRA group), but it seems to be built for individuals, not communication within organizations.

Heath said...

I agree with Brad...thank you Terry for getting this started. I'm looking forward to exploring how social media can benefit our organization and school districts.

I too was frustrated when it came to selecting a category to find other TSPRAns. Assume it will get easier as it becomes more familiar.

Brad Press said...

Easy enough to use, but it took me several searches before I found any TSPRAns on there. Even some that I knew used Facebook (therefore I assumed they would use this as well) were not on there.

Not a site that I use for back and forth communication, but maybe that's just me. I've had a profile for awhile now, don't use it a whole lot.....

Brad Press said...

Easy enough to use, but it took me several searches before I found any TSPRAns on there. Even some that I knew used Facebook (therefore I assumed they would use this as well) were not on there.

Not a site that I use for back and forth communication, but maybe that's just me. I've had a profile for awhile now, don't use it a whole lot.....

Unknown said...

Great job Terry with keeping this together. I agree with Dave and think we should have a LinkedIn group for TSPRA.

Unknown said...

This is a great idea Terry. LinkedIn is easy enough to use, but I doubt it's something I'll check daily - maybe once a week or so.

Dave Nielsen said...

I'm really liking the Groups feature and enjoying the additional connections. In looking for other groups, I've seen a couple for other school districts and sometimes for alumni of specific high schools...I'd be interested in hearing feedback from people who have joined/created/used those types of groups.

ballard_kristin said...

I have had a LinkedIn account for a while, however, I haven't accessed it lately. There are many people on the site, which is great for building a professional network.

I do like that the account will send emails to the email address you prefer for any activity on your account. It is a great way to keep in touch with a professional network. I enjoy having my professional page seperate from my personal facebook page.

I am part of a few groups including PRSA Dallas and the alumni group from my university. I will get alerts about different events or different comments/questions others in the group have.

I could see that it may be something great to use to promote TSPRA news and events.

Dave Nielsen said...

(responding to Thursday/Friday questions)

1) Terry? There should probably be a volunteer or two who are interested in keeping an eye on it, and admin privileges for someone 'official' - maybe a board member or VP.
2) I haven't admin'd a group on LinkedIn, but I can't imagine how it would possibly require more than a maximum of 5 hours/week. Probably more like 1-2 hours spread out over each week (in addition to time that person would normally spend on LinkedIn).
3) An invitation for all members when LinkedIn + TSPRA becomes 'official', an invitation for all new members after that, a permanent link on the TSPRA website somewhere, and maybe a small mention ("Join TSPRA on LinkedIn!") in any newsletters.
4) Communicating with members? Somewhat, but it's very public, and its use when job-seeking means that all correspondence must be written with that in mind...something a little more private might work better. Recruiting/promoting? Maybe, but I think we'd do better to recruit/promote specifically towards current TSPR professionals who aren't yet TSPRA members, rather than recruiting from the broad userbase of LinkedIn.
5) I'm envisioning a mostly hands-off moderator role for whoever manages the group. They might post some questions the board wants input on, or occasionally start discussions to keep conversation going, but I'm not sure what else they'd need to do. The Director/Board? I think they should join the group like any other member. :)

Heath said...

Responses to homework questions...please keep in mind that I'm still getting comfortable with this site and its potential.

1. Who should manage the TSPRA LinkedIn group? TSPRA Executive Director or another TSPRA staff member...thinking in terms of longevity and sustainablilty. ???
2. How much time do you feel will be required? That’s a good question…I’m not sure I can answer that. I would guess several hours per week.
3. Where/how should TSPRA advertise its presence on LinkedIn, if at all? Certainly advertise to current members through all current utilized mediums (website, emails, TSPRA newsletter). Also advertise in association magazines such as TX School Business.
4. Do you see LinkedIn more as a tool for communicating with members or for recruiting new members/promoting the organization? Both? Neither? Initially the first, but certainly think we should use it to promote the organization and possible create new alliances.
5. What role and/or regular interaction should the TSPRA Executive Director and Board have with the service, if any? Not sure I am comfortable enough with all the ways to use LinkedIn to answer this question right now.