Joining the dots. Or not

I've had a LinkedIn account for a while, but once again, 23 Things has me updating the gadgets I'd forgotten about, and possibly remembering why I didn't use them in the first place.

The interface at LinkedIn is far from intuitive, but I definitely see the value in having a professional online network, as distinct from those provided by Facebook, Twitter and even Blogger. I know several people have raised concerns about privacy on LinkedIn, which is worth thinking about, but more concerning is that Facebook is also searchable. There's the fairly notorious case of students being hauled up in front of the Proctors because they had pictures of themselves being 'trashed' after exams, something the university authorities frown on (and fine for). I think there's something very useful about it being the first thing that comes up when an employer types your name into a search engine! Because like it or not, that's what happens nowadays.

I've added a few more people to my LinkedIn network and am going to hopefully make better use of it over the next few months. I'm not sure it'll ever be more than a handy sideline for me, but it would be handy to have somewhere that people can see about me without my having to list CV-type-stuff in my blog. That's definitely something to mull over.