Or maybe it’s just for me…

Over the past few months, two people I know were recruited and offered job promotions through LinkedIn.  The first story I thought was a rare occurance, but after hearing the second story I thought there might be something to this professional social media/networking thing and decided it was time to “complete” my profile.

Up until the last few weeks, my profile had no picture, no great details about me or my professional experience.  I may have had my undergraduate and graduate programs and my current employer listed so that I could connect with classmates and current colleagues, of course.  That’s about it.

I’m not actively looking for a new job right now, but considering the changes that are coming forward in my company and specifically at my specific location, I figured it would be prudent to start preparing for changes should they become necessary in the future.

So I signed into my linked in account.  Added a picture, updated my resume, and accepted a few friends.  I clicked a few companies and groups I’d like to follow and the rest has been history.

Then last night happened…

(disclaimer – To date I have been a long-time blogger (not consistent as of late), active on Facebook, and participate in a few other online discussions where my identity remains relatively disconnected from my career and livelihood).

I found this one particular LinkedIn group that seemed to have interesting conversations pertinent to my industry and interests.  I loved the content so I jumped in on the discussions.

One technical question that was posed had some good responses, and one response that summed the issue up really well.

I did what any millennial Facebooker would do and I “LIKED” this comment posted the LinkedIn Group Page.

Then I came across another conversation where someone posted an article.  There were a few responses to the article, one of which I disagreed with.  Well, most of it was okay, but there was one rather grandiose assumption of the secondary effects of this major change highlighted in the article.

I did what any net-active blogger/commenter/social media-ite would do and I challenged it by posting my own comment to the article/the comment I disagreed with.  I emphasized other market forces at work outside the US… blah, blah, blah.  Really, I had researched this very thing earlier in the fall and was excited to be able to apply what I learned from my research to a real conversation.  Or to even have that kind of conversation with others in like-industries was exciting for me.  (Silly?  Possibly.  Nerd?  Definitely.)

My concern after the fact became this…

Over the past 24 hours, people I don’t know, who saw this “challenge comment”, have looked at my profile.  I know because LinkedIn tells me this.  Then when I look at their profiles, I can see that they know some of the same people I know.  Suddenly my comments and activity on this new LinkedIn group thing take on a whole new dynamic that I’ve never before experienced through blogging, facebook and other social media channels.

Usually, I either don’t know who’s “looking” at me, or they can’t look at me because of security settings.  BUT the whole idea of LinkedIn is networking…i.e. finding connections through other connections, connecting through interests, industries, etc.  Here, people can check my profile without “friend requesting” me (what does LinkedIn call it?), and that’s perfectly okay.  But I’m seeing some traffic to my profile as a result of my comment with no responses/feedback to said comment and I’m getting all paranoid inside.

Was I spot on?  Was I  wrong?  Was I awesome?  Was I a jerk?  I don’t know, I don’t know!?!?!

I mean, if I totally botched my comment, are these people going to contact their people who are also my people and tell them to check their employee who’s spouting off all kinds of stuff on some social media site?  I wasn’t rude to the guy (I don’t think) and (obviously) I think the point made was relevant…

Moral of the story is that I need help.  I want to continue collaborating and conversing in this place, but I don’t know the ins and outs of this professional social networking business.  Do I just need to get used to people looking at my profile and not make a big deal out of it like I am right now?  Are there rules that I need to abide by?  Is there a different etiquette that I must learn for LinkedIn that is different from Twitter, or Facebook or YouTube or other social media channels?  Is it okay to disagree with someone on a linked in group thread, if you’re tactful about it?  And what exactly does “tactful” look like in this instance?  Or are we supposed to not say anything if what we have to say disagrees with what everyone (or just someone) has already said?

I need a crash course in professional social media for dummies…can anyone help me out?