Maybe I shouldn't take LinkedIn so damn seriously.

I belong to any number of online social networking sites (such as Change.Org), but LinkedIn strikes me as the one that is really about professional credibility.  They have such solemn guidelines for accepting or sending an invitation to connect:


Only accept an invitation if you know the sender and want them in your network.

Accept invitations when:

   * You want to stay in touch with the inviter
   * You know and trust their judgment and expertise
   * You've worked with them and would recommend them
   * They know your work and can represent your potential


There are a lot of people I want to stay in touch with, but that's just the first criterion, and there aren't an infinite number of colleagues who fit all four of the above criteria.  The guidelines seem to imply that connecting on LinkedIn is an acknowledgement of an existing professional relationship, rather than an indication of interest in creating one.

Therefore, when I sat down to my backlog of incoming LinkedIn invitations this morning, I found myself struggling to write polite refusal notes to any number of people.  In virtually every case, it boiled down to the fact that I didn't know enough about his/her work to recommend him/her.  LinkedIn doesn't give me an automated option that says, "I'd be happy to acquire firsthand experience of your work, but until then I can't endorse a total stranger." 

Last fall, a reporter from the Boston Globe, Johnny Diaz, interviewed me for an article on the difficulties of managing these situations.  I offered him some insights that I had derived from studying sociometry, cultural anthropology, and etiquette - but at that point I didn't have many practical suggestions for him about how to say "no" graciously, and I still don't.  I'll probably have to find a way, unless I want to ignore those invitations, or offer implied endorsements of people whose characters, accomplishments, or current whereabouts are a mystery to me.  Maybe the latter alternative would be just fine, if it turns out that no one else takes LinkedIn so damned seriously.