...to think that LinkedIn isn't so mum-friendly?

[semi]

I am a working mum with quite a few professional contacts on Linkedin and have found that most self-employed women/mumpreneurs I've spotted in the press haven't got a Linkedin profile. What's that all about? Don't virtual networks well lend themselves to busy mums? Or is it that we just don't like to share what we are up to? Talk about our successes/achievements?

You have to be a bit careful too.

A person who made a contact request, was also connected to two other people I know professionally, has now started spamming me emails about her services!

I think that is a bit off.

I now have the dilemma whether to disconnect or not. Clearly just interested in harvesting email addresses for email marketing. Is it classified Unsolicited if from a LinkedIn contact, although you have not asked for information or to be contacted?

So, to the point: Dont add strangers!

Thanks, both of you. It sounds like it should definitely only be a place for noting real life, substantial connections, not like Twitter etc where you form purely online relationships quite readily. That's useful to know.

I think it is a much more formal and professional environment than Twitter for sure.

Facebook is for family and friends, twitter for fun and serious social networking with people you know and dont know, LinkedIn for work. Thats how I take it.

I wish I knew what to do with it rather than more than I do now.

I hate the number of people who want to add me to their network who are just recruiters or from Indian research companies. I don't know them, so why network with them?

On the other hand, I have 402 connections, and I'd like to be able to market to (some) of them - but how to do this without appearing to spam them?

Because - why don't you try a fairly soft start by just sharing a few update messages? (On the front page). I only see those when I log in, so am not bothered about marketing there in the same way as I am if it arrives in my email inbox.

Because
the other trick is to tweak and update your profile every few days - keeps you on the front page when people log in.
I'm connected to lots of former colleagues and University friends as well as family and real life friends who are on there
and its is best for checking people out.

THe beancounting discussion groups are pretty lively.

Nobody on this thread wants to buy some market research then?

Would save me going to all that trouble on mum-unfriendly Linked In

BIWI, I'd like you to mumarket-research the scope for my new limumited comumpany which will be mumanagement comumsulting for the busy mumtreprenuer.

I wish we could afford market research!!

Floaty - I think I know the answer to that one ...

someone on another thread has called herself a cuntrepreneur.

Cuntrepreneur and Cocktrepreneur. It could catch on.

I am not any kind of preneur. Sorry.

Its for professionals, why oh why does the world have to revolve around Mums,

As an aside I roar laughing at those Red and Easy Living profiles of women running cottage industries that clearly are not making a penny!

You bumped this didn't you?

Is that supposed to be ironic Vardy? What a load of shite.

aaah, Why can there not be a zombie warning at the TOP of threads