Online Networking: Quantity or Quality?
One of the discussions I've been watching with great interest in the greater LinkedIn community and with professional networking sites in general is whether it's a better strategy to have a small number of quality connections, or a large number of relevant but varied connections.
This discussion is so common, in fact, that some people have started to abbreviate it as QvQ.
But what are the pros and cons of each strategy? Let's have a look...
First off, like much else in life, the connect / don't connect decision is one that you have to consider anew for each potential professional connection, regardless of your individual connection criteria. Specifically, even if you decided that you'd only link to very high quality people (that is, people who you have know for at least X years, or worked with on at least Y projects) you're still placing yourself on a continuum of networking connection restrictions where one extreme is that you won't connect to anyone and the diametric opposite extreme is that you'll connect to everyone, their Mom and their dog...
This discussion is so common, in fact, that some people have started to abbreviate it as QvQ.
But what are the pros and cons of each strategy? Let's have a look...
First off, like much else in life, the connect / don't connect decision is one that you have to consider anew for each potential professional connection, regardless of your individual connection criteria. Specifically, even if you decided that you'd only link to very high quality people (that is, people who you have know for at least X years, or worked with on at least Y projects) you're still placing yourself on a continuum of networking connection restrictions where one extreme is that you won't connect to anyone and the diametric opposite extreme is that you'll connect to everyone, their Mom and their dog...
Continue reading about Building your online network: quality or quantity? at The Intuitive Life Business Blog.
posted by Dave Taylor at
3:17 PM
