Prediction: LinkedIn Engagement Metrics Will Soar in 2009

I did something this morning I haven't done in a long time: I spent an hour on LinkedIn.

Anyone who reads this blog, watches TechTicker, or has read my book knows I have long been very bullish on LinkedIn as a company, and occasionally the site has proven a God-send for tracking sources down. But in a world where Facebook and Twitter meet most of my connecting needs, the only uniquely powerful application for LinkedIn in my view is job hunting, and I haven't had to look for a job since I've been a member. So while I've played around with the Answers application and go to the site once a month or so to sort through invitations, I've never had much reason to spend a lot of time there.

So what changed today?

I got a request to introduce a friend hunting for a job with her ideal potential employer, and unlike nearly all LinkedIn notification emails, I felt motivated to click on it right then. While I was there, I wrote a recommendation for her. And then wrote a recommendation for Olivia. Then, I realized I hadn't updated my profile to include Yahoo and BusinessWeek, so I did that. And then uploaded a picture. Then, I went through a very full inbox of requests. Before I knew it, LinkedIn had sucked up nearly an hour of my day.

What roped me in? The ability to easily and tangibly help someone I care about get a job. I write a lot about the human, emotional "levers" social media pulls when done right. The three most common and most powerful are incredible convenience, the need to connect with others, and ego boost/validation.

LinkedIn has always been a great tool for convenience and a decent tool for connecting, but this request satisfied all three. Convenience is the most obvious: As opposed to my friend asking via email or casual conversation if I knew anyone at the company in question, LinkedIn told her who I knew, told me who it was, and made it drop-dead simple to forward an introductory note. In terms of connection, it reminded me that I really liked this person, and she'd helped my career greatly in the past, making me want to repay that kindness and giving me an easy way. And because we don't talk all the time, she wouldn't have been top of mind to refer to the employer even if I'd known they were hiring. Now, she is.

In terms of ego and validation, I got the pride of knowing my network could help someone I care about. And not just help someone with something minor-- help someone potentially find a new job. In this case she wasn't laid off but, in an economy like this where hundreds of thousands are, survivor's guilt runs high. Especially if you've been laid off before and viscerally remember that feeling. You want to be able to do something when you hear that kind of news, and LinkedIn offers that, whether it's an introduction or just writing a recommendation for a laid-off friend. It was one of the first times an interaction with LinkedIn gave me that social media endorphin rush that I more commonly get with Twitter, blogging, Flickr or Facebook.

I'd already assumed LinkedIn's traffic and users would increase during the downturn thanks all those people seeking jobs or updating their resumes and networks just in case. But it never occurred to me that engagement might go up, as a result of everyone else in job hunters' networks and their human need to help, the validation associated with helping and the very low hassle of doing so.

And LinkedIn could use a boost in the engagement department if you believe Compete's numbers. It shows pages per visit up just 5% over a year when the rest of LinkedIn's metrics have soared:

There's a lesson for the laid off ones here: Use your network and don't be afraid to ask for recommendations and introductions on LinkedIn. Your friends want to help you, and LinkedIn has made it incredibly easy. Of course, the keyword there is "friend." I don't add people on LinkedIn unless I know them, and I don't recommend people unless I know them well. Spammers: You'll only annoy people.

As an addendum, see Robert Scoble's advice today on how to remake your social web identity to appeal to potential employers. Most of his suggestions are great, i.e. don't beg for links and do be aggressive in meeting and following people for which you'd want to work. But as one look at my blog shows, I don't agree with several of these. Remaking your blog, friends, and Twitters to reflect only the job you are looking for is pushy and inauthentic. That can very easily get spammy. I think people have a right to have a personal blog, and I'd read it to know the type of person I'm trying to hire. Who wants to feel like they're getting a hard sell with each and every word?

I grant his macro point that your social media profile reflects you, and deserves a scrub. But some of the suggestions seem a bit desperate. Believe me, I've been desperate to find a job before, so I know that feeling. But you don't want to look desperate, do you?

Just to make the point I'm going to violate rule #2 and rule #7, in an attempt to demonstrate Scoble's rule #3. Scoble would *not* hire you if you were friends with this cat:

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