Sunday, June 14, 2009

Plaxo/Linkedin vs. Facebook/MySpace






As required in the course, I just created both a Plaxo and Linkedin account. Plaxo seems to be very similar to Facebook without all the apps (from what I see) and with more emphasis on professional experience and education simply because both areas are boldly featured in your profile as opposed to being options in Facebook. According to the website, [http://help.plaxo.com/al/12/1/article.asp?aid=1076&tab=search&bt=4] “Plaxo is about synchronizing all that’s important to you in one single place. It’s about staying in touch with all those who you care about… your family, your friends and your business contacts. With Plaxo’s Pulse, we keep you up to date with what your friends, family and Business contacts are up to”. The interesting thing available to both Facebook and Plaxo users is that you can link your Facebook account to your Plaxo account “Connect your Facebook account to Plaxo and you'll be able to: Automatically connect with your Facebook friends who already use Plaxo, Share your Facebook Wall Stories (like photos, links, and videos) with your Plaxo friends, [and] Keep your Plaxo and Facebook status in sync.” To sum up—Plaxo and Facebook [even MySpace] are very similar…

Linkedin is also somewhat similar to Plaxo and Facebook [even MySpace], however, the website is mainly attempting to help the user make business/professional social contacts. According to the website, [http://learn.linkedin.com/what-is-linkedin/] “LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 40 million members and growing rapidly. LinkedIn connects you to your trusted contacts and helps you exchange knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals.”

Linkedin allows you to:

  1. Establish your professional profile--“LinkedIn gives you the keys to controlling your online identity. Have you Googled yourself lately? You never know what may come up. LinkedIn profiles rise to the top of search results, letting you control the first impression people get when searching for you online.”
  2. Stay in touch with colleagues and friends—“In today’s professional world, people change jobs and locations constantly. By connecting on LinkedIn, your address book will never go out of date. Your contacts update their profiles, keeping you current with their latest jobs, projects and contact info. You’ll stay in closer contact with great tools to communicate and collaborate.”
  3. Find experts and ideas—“Sometimes your immediate circle can’t resolve a unique business challenge. Tools like Answers and Groups let you locate and interact with experts through trusted introductions. LinkedIn Search lets you explore the broader network by name, title, company, location, and other keywords that will help you find the knowledge you’re looking for.”
  4. Explore opportunities—“ Whether you’re looking for a career opportunity, winning new clients or building your professional reputation, LinkedIn connects you to jobs, sales leads and ideal business partners. With our powerful search engine, company research tools and a jobs board that shows who you know at listed companies, LinkedIn is the place to turn for new opportunities.”

I don’t know where exactly I’ll go next with all of these technologies and websites we've explored. I do know now, that I have quite a few more tools ready to be used in my knowledge toolbox :)

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for your analysis of Plaxo verses Linkin, you were one of the first up on google when i typed it in. Thanks again, I use both, had joined both at the same time so they were intertwined in my head

    ReplyDelete