Is LinkedIn Really Liable for Providing Professional Data to Potential Employers?

I just read an interesting article that talked about a recent class action lawsuit that has been filed against LinkedIn in California that claims LinkedIn's Job Reference Tool allows employers access to data that can be used to make hiring and firing decisions without providing notification to the LinkedIn user. While I'm not an attorney, I know there are laws that prohibit the use of some information that an employer may use or have access to.

The question I have is if we, as voluntary users of LinkedIn (or any social network, for that matter) are putting in all of this information that we don't want others to see, is it really the network's fault for making it available to the rest of the network participants. Nobody is forcing us to put all of our information online. Rather, shouldn't we be more focused on the existing rules (i.e. the Fair Credit Reporting Act, enacted in 1970) and laws related to what is (and is not) permissible in the hiring and/or firing of employees and what happens if someone violates them.

I agree it's a lot easier to go after the networks like LinkedIn and blame them for making it available. But if you're hiring and know under employment law and existing rules that you cannot base your decision on the race, sex, religion, etc... or that you have to provide notification or get consent of the applicant (and you don't) then don't put yourself in the position to be exposed to it - or suffer the consequences. I've heard there are now third-party services now that can "scrub" a social search data for applicant or employee information and provide you only with the details that you are legally able to see. If you're not doing this and you go online to find information that may sway your decision one way or another, is it the network's fault? I don't think so.

Your Thoughts?

I'd love to hear what you have to say in the comments below. Am I totally off base and letting LinkedIn off the hook too easily or do you agree that we need to hold employers to a higher standard (or maybe a little of both)?

Who Says Social Networking Doesn't Work?

Recently I had an experience involving LinkedIn that spurred a thought and inspired me to share the story with you here. As you may suspect from the title of this post, my story is going to have something to do with "proof" that time vested in social networking can reap rewards for you, even when you least expect it. Here's the story...

Last week a couple of my international WSI colleagues who know my love of the banking sector shared a link to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report entitled "The New Digital Tipping Point" and how banking is facing the steepest challenge in over a generation. The report suggests that a new tipping point has been reached and the fulcrum is the shift towards going digital. Great information, so I decided to share "socially" and send it along to my connections.

Privacy, Authenticity, Objectivity and Being "Real" Online...

Image by o5com via FlickrThe topic of online privacy has got a lot of attention in recent months and as a former community banker, the issue of privacy is something that I've always taken very seriously. Not only was I obligated as a banker from a regulatory and legal perspective to protect my customers' privacy, at a higher level it's just the "right thing" to do. We never sold our customer information to third parties for profit (unlike others), not because we didn't want the money, but because I believed doing so would be in direct violation of the trust they placed in me as their banker.

However, if you can voluntarily "give up" some of your information in exchange for a more customized and personalized online experience... would that be such a bad thing? It's already happening when you go on Facebook, as marketers can leverage the information YOU are providing. The ads that appear are not "coincidence", they are directly targeted at YOU based on information in your profile, what you're posting on your wall, who you are associated with, etc. While the companies behind the ads may not know my actual name, they do know that I...

• Am a college graduate (a couple of times over) and hail from historic Marshall, MI
• Love to bicycle and compete in triathlons
• Am someone that is interested in online marketing and all things digital
• Have two awesome golden retrievers
• Enjoy public speaking and teaching others about social tech

So, when I'm on Facebook I see ads for things like bicycles, fitness supplements, online marketing information, etc. You get the picture. But I've decided to be authentic in my information (I'm not telling the world that I'm a rocket scientist or interested in climbing Mt. Everest - even if that may be more exciting), which means that information and marketing messages are relevant. There's an interesting cartoon (from The New Yorker) where you have two dogs sitting at a computer and the one at the keyboard says to the other, "On the Internet nobody knows you're a dog." While the lure of anonymity may have been initially attractive to some, I propose you really have to be genuine and real to get the most out of this new, online social world.

Most everything that I put out on the 'net is not filtered or directed to a particular group or segment of my social graph. I know in Facebook you can set up groups and segment friends that may be more "business" related so you can restrict what they can (and cannot see). I also have several platforms that I use, and each has a bit different feel (Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, for example). But, in most cases what goes out, just goes out and I'm not really that concerned about who reads it. Like it or not, this is "Eric Cook" and sooner or later people will figure me out.

For example, if someone is a "cat person" and I'm a "dog person" and that's going to cause a problem down the road, isn't it best to know that sooner than later and we both can go on our merry way? Granted, that may be a bit extreme, but you get the idea. So, are you being as "real" as you can online, or are you holding something back? I'm interested in your thoughts...

~Eric

Is the Digitizatioin of Society a Good or Bad Thing?

As consumers shift their offline lives to an online world, the concept of "digitization" has many meanings, depending on your perspective. From a big picture, we are interacting with friends, family and co-workers more electronically than face-to-face. Communication is via e-mail, text messages, Facebook and other online means that in many cases are not only more convenient, but give you the ability to reach out and touch several people at the same time with your message.

Check out the following video and see just some of the examples of how business is changing. After you watch it, keep scrolling for some thoughts/observations.

So, it appears that the digitization of business (maybe even our society as a whole) is inevitable, but is that a good or bad thing? What does this mean for your personal relationships? While I'm happily married (13 years, thank you!), I had a conversation with one of my single friends who said that dating now is a completely different experience than it was a few years ago. The temptation is to "Google" for information on your date, check out their Facebook profile, snoop around their LinkedIn information, etc... Think about it, you could show up for that traditionally "awkward" first date knowing more about the person sitting across from you than some couples married 15 or 20 years ago knew about each other before saying their "I DOs". Is this a good thing?

From a business perspective, even the smallest mistake or customer service slip can spread across the 'net in an instant. That means someone on your team having a "bad day" can do more damage now than ever - but most businesses don't even have a strategy to monitor (and address) when something like this happens.

What do you think? Is this digital shift a good or bad thing for society? Not that we can keep it from happening (that would be like trying to keep the sun from coming up in the morning), but if we KNOW what's going on, we can develop strategies to address the changes the challenges facing us today.

Looking forward to your thoughts...
~Eric

What’s Social Networking Got To Do With ME?

Maybe you’re someone who hasn’t drank the Facebook “kool-aid” and have been ignoring co-workers invitations to join LinkedIn. To you, the concept of Twitter is something foreign and begs the question “why should I care what you just ate for breakfast”? Well, there’s a lot more to social networking and sites like these are being used by organizations to help strengthen relationships and actually generate revenue (gasp). But, what if you’re still not convinced. You may be saying to yourself, “what’s social networking got to do with ME?” Let me share a story that may put some perspective on this question.

This week I’ve got the pleasure of speaking to the Idaho and Utah Bankers Associations at their joint annual convention in Sun Valley, Idaho. While I’m certainly looking forward to the venue (never been there before), the topic of conversation will be about social networking and the concept of online reputation management. When talking with a friend during a recent visit to Chicago last month, I was telling him about my upcoming presentation and he said “have I got a story for you”.

My friend is active on social networking sites and posts updates to his “wall” on Facebook and has a nice profile on Linkedn. In case you’re not aware, one of the features of social networking sites is their ability to “magically” recommend people that you may know who are also in the system, but maybe not connected to you yet. Well, my friend was logged in one day and got a suggestion for a former college buddy to connect in LinkedIn. Great, he thought, it would be good to re-connect and see how he’s doing…

When my friend visited his buddy’s LinkedIn profile, at first blush it looked like any other LinkedIn profile. It listed his name, current employer, education history and a few other pieces of information that seemed normal. But, after a closer look under the details of his job, it had listed as one of his responsibilities “sleeping with coworkers”! Huh???

Something here didn’t seem quite right, so my friend called his college buddy and said “what’s up with your LinkedIn profile?” The response was “what do you mean, I don’t have a profile in LinkedIn,” or so he thought. After a few screenshots and some “adult language” they had surmised that his disgruntled ex-wife got in and created a fake LinkedIn profile and was using it as a way to “get back” for their recent separation and was attempting to drag his name through the mud through this professional networking site.

This gentleman held a very prominent position at a publicly traded company. But like many busy executives, simply had not taken the time, nor really saw the benefit of being online and having a LinkedIn profile. However, it’s hard to say how many people had gone online to view his profile and saw this. While he decided that he wasn’t ready for social networking, the reality was that it found him (and not in a good way). Fortunately, after several e-mail messages and a lot of personal effort, he was able to get the phony profile removed and restore his good name.

So, what’s the moral of this story? Well, there are several but I think the biggest lesson to be learned is that even if you think social networking is not right for YOU, the luxury of not paying any attention to this evolution is quickly becoming a thing of the past. We saw in this example how it could have had a personal impact on one individual, what about some of the business implications? Any business that works with the public (and that’s most of us these days) likely has a handful of customers that may feel you are not doing as much as you can to make them happy.

While in the past we had to worry about “word of mouth”, unless it was something really bad, chances are it didn’t spread too far (or fast). Now, with the power of social networking sites, blogs and online review sites like Google Local, Yelp and others, consumers have a voice like never before. So, what’s social networking got to do with YOU? Maybe nothing, but then again, maybe everything... depending on what’s being said about you online. Do you know? If not, let me know and I may be able to help.

So Sales And Social Media DO Have Something In Common...

I started several years ago when I was “still a banker” teaching a class on sales for the Perry School of Banking at Central Michigan University for the Michigan Bankers Association. When I started, I actually had a partner teaching the class with me… my wife, who at the time was the state sales manager for one of the largest title agencies in the state of Michigan. She has been in sales for 25+ years (yes, she started when she was 12) and I must say I’ve learned a lot from her, not only as a banker, but now that I’m running my own consulting practices sales is a vital part of my everyday life.

Taking the “marital dynamics” out of the equation for a bit (although that was a big hit with the students), we introduced the concept of a sales process that can be implemented at any bank (or organization, for that matter) that broke it down into three main elements. These are setting your Goals and Objectives, identifying the Players that are part of the process and finally the Tools that you will use to implement the plan.

I may go into each of these three areas in more detail in future posts, but for now I want to share an observation that I made after listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel of Twist Image. In this episode (which kept me company while mowing the lawn), Mitch talked with Jeffrey Gitomer, probably one of the best sales trainers/authors today. My wife (as do I) has all of his “Little (Red, Black, Green, Yellow…) Book of (Sales, Connections, Getting Your Way, YES!...)” books. In fact, these are all on the reference list that I gave out at class last week to the students at Perry.

The interesting part in this was when the discussion turned to how sales and social media are really more closely aligned than what people think… well at least the “right” type of sales. In that, I mean sales based on the foundation of relationships, value and building win-win outcomes. All too often sales is given a bad wrap by those trying to do it wrong and “forcing” the sale. It’s for this reason that my class is called “Sales: It’s Not A Four Letter Word”.

What I’ve always said about social networking (done right) is that it takes people down the “Know Me, Like Me, Trust Me” path. Once people get to know who you are, the can determine if they like what you stand for, what you know, etc… Only after this process has been accomplished do people get to the point where they trust one another (and that’s typically when business gets done – and that’s when the money is made).

While in the “traditional” sales process (ie. before social media) that had to be done face to face, through written communication like newsletters or whitepapers to establish and share what you know as an expert and how you can help. Now, however, with social media providing anyone the ability to become a publisher of information instantly (and for free), the smart ones are leveraging this to get their brand out there so others can get to Know them, Like them and hopefully Trust them with their business.

I encourage you to stop by SPOS and check out the interview with Gitomer. He's in his early 60s (solid “Boomer”) and freely admits that he resisted sites like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook for a long time. But, now that he’s embraced what can be done (and how to use them the right way), you’ll hear how he now feels these portals are critical to his success now and in the future. Good stuff for sure!

So, what do you think? Is sales still a four-letter word in your organization or are you getting more comfortable with the process? Chances are you could be doing a better job (like us all) and social media may be just the ticket to getting you to the next level. Who Knows, Likes and Trusts YOU?

I'm Turning My Wife Into a Geek (sort of)

The past several weeks my wife, Alicia, has been signing up for some of the popular social networking sites like LinkedIn, Twitter and recently started her own Facebook page. In her position as state sales manager with Chicago Title of Michigan, this is one of the ways that she's trying to differentiate herself (and her sales team) to help build relationships with customers, and also be able to show her customers how to build their own relationships and build their businesses.

As a Certified Internet Business Consultant with WSI, I am looking at the benefits of social networking for businesses all the time and excited about having her come on board. Since she's still somewhat of a "newbie" to this space, it's good for me to ensure that I can explain some of what's going on in this space in "common terminology" so that the average business person can understand. Granted, she's catching up quickly, but we have had a couple of great conversations on exactly HOW to use these sites to promote yourself, your "brand" and eventually the products and services that you represent that help put food on the table.

As with any successful marriage (and those of you who are married can appreciate this), communication is critical to ongoing happiness. This certainly was the case when we taught the class on Sales Skills for Bankers at the Perry School of Banking the past two years for the Michigan Bankers Association. This is just one more area where I need to make sure that I'm doing a good job of helping to ensure that she (and then, my customers) understand what all this means. It's been a lot of fun trying to explain things from a different perspective and the process has made me a better "educator" along the way.

If you're thinking about dipping your toe into the wonderful world of social networking, I say go for it. It's a great way to tell the world what you're all about and make connections that could develop into something great. Whether it's renewing an old friendship from high school or maybe a new business relationship, you might just be surprised. From a business perspective, we all do business with people we know and trust (and like), and the new social networking sites help build your online personality and enable others to get to know you.

So give it a try. If you need a little help along the way, let me know and I'll be happy to help point you in the right direction. Or, just wait a few more weeks and you can give Alicia a buzz. Before long she's going to be an expert too!

Great job honey, I'm proud of you...
Eric