Jason Alba

I have been a faithful LinkedIn user since the service started. I literally was one of the very first people to sign up to use this new business networking tool back in 2003. Because of this I anxiously read Jason Alba’s book, I’m on LinkedIn, Now What??? A Guide to Getting the Most Out of LinkedIn, from cover to cover in one sitting while sitting on the beach in Hua Hin, Thailand.

Before I get started on Jason’s book I would like to say a few things. I am not LinkedIn newbie – no, not me. Over the past several years I have used LinkedIn to get customers for my business. I have hired suppliers and employees through LinkedIn. I have caught up with old business acquaintances, classmates, ship mates and even long lost friends. I have set up international conferences in Bangkok, Dublin, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Prague and Manila getting all of the contacts through my LinkedIn connections. I have even gotten interviews from experts for my first book and many articles that I have written for publications around the world through LinkedIn. So I pretty much thought that I knew everything backwards and forward about LinkedIn.

Jason Alba rightly writes the book for the absolute beginner who either doesn’t have an account with LinkedIn yet or has just signed up for one. He takes the reader through the account settings and how to set up their profile then discusses ways in which the LinkedIn user can get the most out of LinkedIn, whether it be for a job search, looking for clients, or whatever their business networking aims to be.

One thing that I did like about Alba’s approach is that he acknowledged that many of the users will be open to connections from who ever wants to use their network, whereas others will be very closed with their networks. This has been a constant point of friction so to speak as some of the LinkedIn. Jason Alba openly discussed LinkedIn etiquette in this regard.

I also think one of the most important things that Jason Alba pointed out was that LinkedIn is a tool. It should never replace the normal networking that you may do but used correctly it should greatly enhance it. I couldn’t agree more. Alba gave an example of a LinkedIn user who happens to be a traveling salesman who finds people to meet for lunch, dinner, coffee for his down time when he is in a new city, which greatly enriches his time spent. I have done very much the same thing for the past few years and have made friends all over the world this way.

Finally, I really learned a lot of a good tool in using the LinkedIn Groups. Before reading this book I had never really used this application mainly ignoring it. But after reading Jason Alba describe what can be gained from LinkedIn Groups I began to join the conversations in these. My first use has been a very practical one. I was invided to be a panelist at a large conference in Singapore later this year to discuss a very esoteric subject. I was stuck for what I would give on my presentation. Thank God I read this book. I went on LinkedIn, tossed the situation on a few of my groups, and voila! I have plenty of ideas now to work with.

This book is a little treasure for anyone who is interested in using LinkedIn but it is also a bonus for those of us already familiar with LinkedIn but could always go a bit further.… (mere)