My 17-year journey on LinkedIn

In 2021, on April 18th to be precise, I have been on LinkedIn for 17 years! What a journey have I been on during these 17 years. Looking back is always a good idea when you pave the way forward!  

Why did I join, again?

I do remember exactly why I joined LinkedIn! I was a heavy user of the software called "Plaxo". Plaxo was an online address book that launched in 2002 and somewhat of a networking site. Along came LinkedIn and I saw the opportunity to maybe take my networking to the next level.  

I am member #448512!

It started me on a journey that made LinkedIn not only a relationship-building too,l but also became also an integral part of my job, daily routine, source of information, and a source of income. Additional benefit, I have made some great friends from all over the world along the way.

The milestones on my journey

Unlike many people, I was not invited by some contact but started my subscription from a curiosity point of view. Over the years I have reached milestone after milestone. Here are some of the more interesting ones.

Milestones:

?? 1st Connection: Zoltan Bus (Alliance manager at Gartner at that time)

?? 50th connection: Hugo Lobyn (a co-worker at Unisys)

?? 100th connection: Tim Nagels (then at our communication agency and now a big shot at Microsoft)

?? 250th connection: Hendrik Deckers (CEO of CIOnet)

?? 500th connection: Jan van de Zande (Then Oracle and now Cronos)

?? 1000th connection: Benny Peleman

?? 2500th connection: Toon Poppe

?? 5000th connection: Tom Sweetlove

??? 7500th connection: Anja Driesmans

?10,000th connection: Jan Vermeesch

In the meantime, I have passed the 13,000 connection level and got over 15,000 Followers. LinkedIn is not a numbers game so I will keep holding true to my mantra for connecting with people: “ I only connect with people I have had a conversation with (face-to-face, conference call, phone call, emails, Twitter, or other digital channels)”.

Over the last few years, together with the growth at LinkedIn my network growth has increased as you can see from the chart below

So here is the growth path

My networking landscape

As you reach various milestones, it's always good to look back and make an evaluation. It must be said that my focus has been on my home country which reflects connections.

LinkedIn gives you insight into your network (1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree). Looking at my network, here is how it shapes up.

This means that every connection has approximately 150 connections. Of course, everyone brings a different amount.

Over the course of the last year, my network has evolved more towards sales and recruitment and my legacy contacts from the ICT industry are less prominent. When I slice my network by the industry it is even more widely spread across industries and functions. 

Over the years, the industries have been pretty stable except for IT that has shrunk by about 5% to make place for other industries.

I have taken a look at my target audiences and here is what the top looks like....

And finally, I also took a look at the seniority level of my 1st-degree connections

What lessons did I learn?

I have made mistakes for sure but I have benefited from great advice from peers and others and after 17 years these are the lessons that come to mind as I head for my 20 years on LinkedIn:

? Rule #1: Continue to connect after having a conversation to create value-add relationships for both parties and maintain the conversation myself.

? Rule #2: Connect with my target audience (and their influencers) or people that can introduce me to them keeping rule #1 in mind. If they do not accept withdraw the invite.

? Rule #3: Continue to use introductions to reach the 2nd-degree connections even more.

? Rule #4: Continue to engage on content from my network.

? Rule #5: Continue to share my knowledge and experiences through posts and articles. Do not worry about the algorithm. Good content gets read and acted upon.

? Rule #6: Never forget the objective for using LinkedIn!

LinkedIn remains a rollercoaster with a lot of fun. It is sometimes frustrating but mostly fun and effective. It is a great journey! So what has your journey on LinkedIn been?