Who the Heck is That?

It was time to contract my network. This is not one of those "If you are reading this, you made the cut" articles. I have new requests all the time. Someone is inspired by a comment and approaches me.

Why not? Connections do not receive access to articles. I know what women want and couldn't say what LinkedIn wants. Now I know who to cultivate relationships with. Would you rather have thirty thousand connections or one woman who loves you back? That is the failure of the "Grow your network in three easy steps" nonsense.

Instead of connecting with everyone who likes your status or writes "Open" or some other four letter word? Do you want a bunch of lemmings who follow directions blindly? Build your network in these three easy steps:

1. Do your own thing not worried about the size of your network.
2. Comment when you are inspired to do so and take it where you want; as if you are having a conversation face to face.
3. On the occasions someone requests to connect; check their profile and decide if they will add value.

Sometimes I receive a request from someone with two mutual connections. If I commented on a post and that person is connected to someone recognizable? The dots are connected.

Scrolling through my entire list; there were people I did not recognize immediately. Others are great connections I am glad to know. There were a couple people I recalled unfollowing. If they bothered me then? Disconnect. I reinstated one woman whom I was told was nice.

I haven't seen anything from her since we reconnected. It's not like she knows. I am not impressed by people who brag about the size of their networks. Size queens add little value. They are probably compensating for- never mind.

The further I went down the list? The more I wanted to keep those connections. Even if I haven't heard from them? Keep it open. A large network might mean something to some. There are people who brag about thousands of profile views.

My views are down this week. And yet? I have new connection requests. Quality is always better than quantity. The seven connections jettisoned won't be missed. It is important to decide who is still worth knowing and to meet someone who brings fresh perspective.