Congrats on your........

I'm a big LinkedIn fan. I believe anything that gets people communicating is highly worth while. I get to watch many people on a day-to-day basis attempt to communicate verbally. I believe the ability to talk to each other is a skill that many overlook. So many times I get an opportunity to experience what I call "rapid subject change".

Rapid subject change is the phenomenon where the subject matter is something relevant to your life, your current employer, etc. and the person you're talking to will all of a sudden take the conversation into something so irrelevant it makes you wonder if they were ever actually listening to you.

Also it wouldn't be communication as a topic without my favorite: "can I ask you a quick question"? A quick question is something like: is it raining, did you have lunch, are you staying late, etc. A quick question is not "Jay, what's the subnet mask to put 8 PC's into our test zone and do we have cat-5 or cat-6e running to those workstations. Can you add those users to AD before you go home"? This was a real quick question from my past

That's part of the reason I like LinkedIn. It's a point in time communication tool and it makes the reader stop and work through interpreting what was sent to them.......void of rapid subject change or quick questions. Another aspect is we all get a chance to celebrate a few important events in LinkedIn users lives. New job, Birthday, work anniversary, promotion are all exciting events that should be celebrated.

A year back Linkedin informed the user community that someone (we'll call him Fred) in my circle of contacts had worked 5 years at the same company. Someone who noticed the anniversary notification from Linkedin offered Fred a "WTG". Fred objected to the well wishes stating that the user "didn't know Fred" and was disingenuous. I was not a fan of the public berating of a user who was just trying to pay it forward.

I've been on Linkedin for a very long time. I think my user number is 6 (kidding). I have many many connections. The events that Linkedin advertises on your behalf are to be celebrated. Every morning, when I sign on I go through the notification tab and send HBD wishes or a congratulation on a new job or anniversary. You don't need to be one of my employees or my neighbor to get congratulations from me. You're out there trying your hardest and believe me, "it counts".

Trust me, it's not part of some conspiracy (i'm not that smart). It's not meant to irritate. I admit, I probably don't know you that well. However, you're working, you have birthdays, work anniversaries, and promotions. Guess what? We have a lot in common. It's worth it to take 2 minutes and give someone a thumbs up. If you don't like it Fred, ignore it. Thanks and congratulations, you have a friend!