Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

I have been toying around with LinkedIn for a year or so now, and it seems to be a valuable networking tool. The value, like all other tools both online or offline, being dependent on the time and energy one puts in to developing and utilizing that avenue. I'm sure that I have yet to unlock the full potential of something like LinkedIn. Aside from listing my job positions and connecting to a reasonably good sized selection of co-workers, business associates, classmates and friends, I haven't done much to expand my network.

Over the past few weeks I have noticed an increase in the number of connection requests I have received. Too bad for me it is not my growing popularity – the requests are not coming from people I know or have ever heard of, and they are seemingly generic requests. My guess is these are mass requests – sent out to entire groups or networks in hopes of simply increasing ones number of contacts. So I have been thinking… is this common practice? My personal philosophy – in terms of social networking – has always been more of a focus on quality rather than quantity. This might be due to my paranoid parents refusing to list our home phone number and address in the local phone book when I was a kid (so the crazy people didn't bother us.) Ultimately, I have seen social networking as a way to remain in touch with people I value in my real life – simply an extension of what goes on offline. Sorry – but if I don't know you, I am not "friending" you on Facebook. I'm not sure I want you to know any of my personal information! I have taken this same approach with LinkedIn.

My question is… am I going about this all wrong? In order to achieve my personal best results with LinkedIn, should I be connecting to everyone and their grandmother in hopes of finding that special person who might help me later on in life? I guess I just see these mass connection invites come across as petty. These people don't really want to know me, they just want my connection. Is this not the same thing as a man climbing up on a table at some networking event and announcing to 300 people, 'my name is John Doe, and I am a valuable person for you to know. Come sign up now to be my friend – don't miss out!'