I learned last week that LinkedIn was sending e-mails congratulating subscribers on having profiles that get a lot of views.<\/p>\n

“LinkedIn wrote me and said my profile was among the top 10% viewed for 2012. Did anybody else get that?” wrote a writer’s\u00a0forum user.<\/p>\n

I hadn’t received a message saying I was even in the top 20<\/em> percent, so I\u00a0was impressed with the original poster’s “accomplishment” and wondered how he had achieved it.<\/p>\n

“Sandra, congratulations!”<\/h3>\n

And then, my own very special message arrived in my Outlook inbox this morning!\u00a0Oh happy day!<\/p>\n

“Sandra, congratulations! You have one of the top 1% most viewed LinkedIn profiles for 2012!” it announced.<\/p>\n

And then\u00a0I thought about it. That’s 1 percent of 200\u00a0million subscribers. So my profile, was, um, in the top 2 million of profiles viewed.\u00a0Doesn’t sound as good when you put it like that, does it?<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, back on the forum . . .<\/h3>\n

Back on the forum, one of the users had shared a link to an LA Times<\/em> article <\/a>that explained the significance of the rankings. It was all just a marketing ploy — a very clever effort by LinkedIn to get people talking about their ranking on other social networking sites. The e-mail messages we received even included a link to a personalized URL that automates the sharing process on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Does it mean anything? I’m not sure.\u00a0\u00a0It’s not a goal I was shooting for, but it did make me think about how it might have happened.<\/p>\n

It’s probably due to my participation in several books-related groups, where I share links to helpful information, comment on topics that interest me, and ask and answer questions. Like Twitter, LinkedIn contributes to my professional development by introducing me to smart people and helpful resources while it helps me learn more about what authors struggle with when promoting their books.<\/p>\n

I don’t need to be ranked to keep doing that. But, hey, Linked In: Reward me with an upgrade me to a complimentary premium account\u00a0and I’ll do even more to support your marketing efforts!<\/p>\n

Did you receive a LinkedIn profile view message? What’s your percentage?<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I learned last week that LinkedIn was sending e-mails congratulating subscribers on having profiles that get a lot of views.<\/p>\n

“LinkedIn wrote me and said my profile was among the top 10% viewed for 2012. Did anybody else get that?” wrote a writer’s forum user.<\/p>\n

I hadn’t received a message saying I was even in the top 20<\/em> percent, so I was impressed with the original poster’s “accomplishment” and wondered how he had achieved it.<\/p>\n

“Sandra, congratulations!”<\/h3>\n

And then, my own very special message arrived in my Outlook inbox this morning! Oh happy day!<\/p>\n

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