Find a group of like-minded individuals, or people that are not like-minded and you will actually feel* your brain growing.
LinkedIn’s Questions & Answers are awesome for heavy users. Like any other form of social media the more engage the quicker you are accepted to the group. WARNING: Don’t pollute the system. Obvious self-promotion here is no different than obvious self-promotion in a bar, at a conference, during a meeting. Look at me, I’m awesome, and other form of back-patting will get you nowhere in a hurry.
Use this tool for good, not evil. Be genuinely engage with your fellow group members to grow your network as soon as that relationship is mutually beneficial. Here are some pointers:
- Ask open-ended questions that avoid specifics for a better variety of answers
- Always include a personal note to the person that asked the question when answering
- Write good headlines to draw people to your question. It’s the old man bites dog thing
- Respond to answers as others post answer to encourage real banter and debate
- Sign up to receive updates for at least the first few days to allow greater involvement
This is an opportunity to let our your inner journalist. Probe the public for good information, then leverage that information across your blog, Twitter, or within your other online communities/cliques. You’ll be glad you did.
*Individual results may vary.
