I recently signed up on Ecademy [ re-signed up would be a better description because I had signed on in December 2005 initially and never got back to using the platform much ]. I was assuming that Ecademy would have atleast a comparable business population – comparable to LinkedIn and openBC – if not more, but was quite shocked to find when they recently announced “Ecademy reaching 100,000 members!”
LinkedIn fortunately shares the total number of members on their platform : about 7 million as on date and openBC, although not very open about the numbers has atleast a million. By those standards, Ecademy is way behind – hence I still do not “get” why business networkers use this platform and how it benefits them.
I am a premium member on LinkedIn simply because the network pays me back – similarly on openBC. On Ecademy I am currently on a trial basis and need to decide whether I should convert to a paying member or not. They don’t have the concept of a free membership as their guest accounts expire in 14 days – and 14 days is just not enough to gauge whether a business networking platform is a good fit for me or not.
I’d really like to find out what your experience has been on this platform!
October 4th, 2006
Following are the recommendations on my LinkedIn profile. Graded from the most effective to the least [ with apologies to people who gave me the recommendations that I have classified as least effective - this post is intended to be an "average" or "what works for the majority" and while I totally love all the recommendations on my LinkedIn profile, all of them might not work for most people who have profiles on LinkedIn ].
Category I : Most effective
Naina did an exceptional job on the LinkedIn India logo. Her conception, wonderful work flow, creativity and understanding of change requests made the project a dream. I would highly recommend her to anyone anywhere in the world. She knows how to work from a distance. [ Direct client. Emphasizes my niche : working remotely with clients from all over the globe and still delivering top-notch quality. ]
I recently asked Naina to design a logo for LinkedIn Socially on Yahoo Groups. Naina not only exceeded the brief, but gave group members a valuable insight to her thinking & methodology by blogging the evolution. I found Naina to be friendly, articulate & a great person to work with & would recommend her to anyone looking for web design briefs to be delivered on time with the minimum of fuss. [ Direct client. Talks about me as a person as well as service/product qualities. ]
Naina is a joy to work with. She handled our Web page assignment with aplomb and diligence, displaying the ability to follow creative direction while adding her own creative input in a diplomatic and useful way. Her work led to an increase in click-throughs. I recommend her to anyone who needs design and Website work. [ Direct client. ]
Naina is one of the brightest and most talented people I’ve had the pleasure of working with and has an amazing ability to work virtually. She is an accomplished writer, a talented graphic designer and has great depth of understanding of innovation and what it takes for organizations to create an environment that supports innovation. She is truly an amazing resource. [ Direct Client. Talks about all my skills and services and more. ]
Category II : Effective
Naina is highly creative and a very easy-going person to work with. Within the LinkedIn community, I have seen many examples of her work. As an Independent Contractor or as an employee, you will find Naina makes a great addition to your team! It is an honor for me to recommend and endorse her. [ Worked together on pro bono projects, not direct client. Very confident language, crisp and concise. ]
After just a brief discussion with Naina about a new networking concept she pulled together the branding and identity and delivered a result that blew us all away. A very innovative and savvy business woman and a first-class networker. Thanks, Naina! [ Direct client. But does not talk about exact project worked on. ]
Category III : Least effective
-She is Better than the Best for -Logo- designing & Creativity.- . [ Met a couple of times, had fantastic business-related conversations, loved my portfolio, never worked together. ]
I haven’t really worked with Naina. But I had no other way of telling you to check out her site. If the LOGO’s were potato chips I would have eaten every one of them. They are AMAZING!! [ Never met, never spoken, never worked together. Very impressed with my portfolio, lots of praise - but no REAL basis and starts with a negative of "haven't really worked..." ]
The following is NOT a recommendation:
To the best of my knowledge Naina is a Management Consultant providing her services at name-of-company. I take this opportunity to wish her all the success. [ B-School classmate, never worked together, didn't know what I was doing at this particular company - not displayed on LinkedIn profile. ]
Factors that make or break a LinkedIn recommendation are as follows :
- Whether you have actually WORKED with the person?
- Whether they have actually DELIVERED a product / service to you?
- Were you truly HAPPY with their product / service / dealings?
- Whether you have actually MET this person?
- Whether you would be comfortable recommending this persons’ services to your own company / family / best friend?
- Punctuation / language and spellings.
- Why are you making the recommendation in the first place?
- If the person had a fall-out with you tomorrow, what would you do?
The best tip I can offer about writing a recommendation for someone on LinkedIn is to Talk about specifics : imagine you are reading someone’s recommendation and figure out what you would want to know about them as a prospective client / prospective business partner / prospective employer / prospective employee and then write your recommendation.
Tell the third person what you like about this person you are recommending, support it with a reason [ because they were nice to you / because they delivered fantastic quality / because they delivered with fantastic speed / because they delivered with fantastic analysis ], and give additional support by sharing your relationship with them [ if you haven't met them - say so, if the person being recommended is your wife/husband - say so, if you have worked with the person for 15 years - say so ]. If you haven’t met them and are still making the recommendation, DO NOT start the recommendation with “I have never met/worked with so-and-so…” – leave it for the end.
Of course each case is different, each person’s writing style as well the job profile of the person being recommended are all varied – the above is only meant to create some semblance.
When I ask my clients from endorsements/testimonials – and those clients are not on LinkedIn, I send them a PDF file, which has all LinkedIn recommendations and ask them to formulate something similar.
October 2nd, 2006
