More Growth and Networking

Last night we had a great time with a small group of Cannon Training graduates. Thanks, Fran! FranCannon.com
I hope that I am conveying how dynamic LinkedIn.com is. It won't look very impressive if you sign up on your own because you're not connected to anyone. I sent an invitation to Dan from the Cannon Training group when I got home last night and he just added himself to my LinkedIn.com group a couple minutes ago. LinkedIn shows me that I have 83 people directly connected - 1st degree.
2nd degree - 2600 +
3rd degree - 72,500 +
4th degree - 444,000 +
Whole network with profiles listed on LinkedIn - 519,200 +
In addition, there are around 37,000 brave souls who will allow anyone to contact them.
Oh, I guess I didn't really mention that we act as screeners for each other. Except for the brave souls, you send your request to someone who is not on your first degree
through the person that connects you to them, as in the example I mentioned yesterday and the real-life example that Patricia gave in her comments. [Wow, she's actually close to someone who knows Nelson Mandella and the Dalai Lama! Some of you might be saying, "We are all close to everyone on the planet, maybe 6 degrees." But, do you know who connects you to a specific person? There's the rub.]
Just to clarify, Dan is now connected to me directly and he can search the network of people up to his fourth degree through me. When he sees someone like say, Tim Hansen, who he can help or vice-versa, he sends the request through me and I forward the request if I know that it's relevant to what Tim is looking for. I have personally sent probably 25 or 30 requests since March and only two have been sent back by the intermediaries. People have made a lot fewer requests of me.
Some of you may question the value of having people in your network who don't obviously seem to benefit you and vice-versa. Let's say you do business in Nova Scotia in a 50 mile radius. Well, I live in San Diego County and the guy who got me involved with LinkedIn is Gary in Vietnam. Through Gary I contacted a guy in Thailand last week related to a non-profit that I want to start to help get scholarship monies into the hands of teens. Within 48 hours I was directly connected to the guy in Thailand and I sent HIM a request today because he's connected to a tech talent guy who lives in San Diego County. So, if you live in Nova Scotia there still might be someone who knows someone who knows someone in Nova Scotia. [You there, Eber?]
Just in case anyone has real expertise at blogging, I ask you to bear with me as I explore the possibilities of this medium.

"The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith."

Franklin D. Roosevelt (American 32nd US president (1933-45), cousin of Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US president. 1882-1945) - ThinkExist.com