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By Amelia Kassel
 If you thought social networking was for the younger set à la MySpace, or for friends connecting for fun and pleasure on Facebook with its 100 million users, look again. Although major media stories were initially about MySpace and Facebook, a Wikipedia compilation lists more than 125 social networking sites [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites] and indicates that even this list is "non-exhaustive" and "limited to some notable, well known sites".
Dozens of social networking sites have given rise to potentially useful information that can be included in the information professional's toolkit.
Definitions and Precursors of Social Networks
Social networking is one of the hottest new Web technologies in sight with millions of users registering and participating around the globe. Topic-specific Usenet newsgroups available on the Internet and electronic discussion forums characteristically populated by professionals of a like mind have been around in various online formats since the 1980s. To learn more about current electronic mailing lists see CataList, the official catalog of LISTSERV® lists with 51,747 public lists out of a total of 490,577 LISTSERV lists. In principle, these earlier technologies and social networking serve the same purpose - to communicate and collaborate. However, social networks, made possible by Web 2.0, are essentially people- rather than topic-centric and one of several next generation communications and collaboration tools that include blogs, wikis and social bookmarking.
Participants worldwide contribute to and collaborate in readily available online discussions, creating new knowledge bases that are not yet fully recognized as information sources. Social networks typically require registration but are free to join, and significantly, to search for a vast array of reference questions, research projects, and to find experts for all kinds of requirements.
Two social networks not included in the Wikipedia article cited above reflect an emerging breed of specialty social networks:
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BiomedExperts.com is the 'first literature-based social networking platform for the life-science research community....The comprehensive system of pre-populated expert profiles, coupled with the ability to analyze all associated professional connections within the co-author network, allows scientists and researchers across organizations the ability to share data and collaborate in ways never before considered.'
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globalEDGE.com, sponsored and developed by the International Business Center at Michigan State University 'includes 35,133 registered users from across the globe and connects users to prospective collaboration partners and industry experts.'
Keep your eye out for other social networks as the bandwagon grows. But let's get a grip. We can't search them all and must look with a discriminating eye towards those most relevant to our interests. Two social networking sites of particular interest to business researchers are LinkedIn and SlideShare. A third, Vidipedia, is still light with regard to solid business content but worth watching. Each offers a range of business-oriented information and professional development opportunities for both you and your clients.
Key Social Networks for Research Use
LinkedIn, a fast growing business network with 22 million members worldwide at last count, launched an Answer area in January 2007. Members ask and answer each other's questions. SlideShare makes it possible to share slide presentations, as its name indicates, and includes the text of the slides in a format called a transcript. Use the search box for finding relevant topics, view the presentation slides at the SlideShare site, or download them for future use. Some require registration based on the poster's preference before downloading is permitted.
Vidipedia rounds out this small selection of an au courant multimedia social networking picture. Similarly to Wikipedia, Vidipedia is a free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. Search for key terms or browse by category. The results are encyclopaedic answers that link to relevant videos. When only one result is available, the video is automatically launched. All videos can be downloaded in flash video format (flv). Running a search on the term 'business' produces an extensive Wikipedia-like description with definitions for business structures and videos such as U.S. and Chinese Business Practices and Warren Buffet Speaking to Students about Business. As a side note, there are several specialty search engines for identifying videos, a topic for another time, but what makes Vidipedia stand out are the encyclopaedic entries.
LinkedIn for Research
The most concrete application of LinkedIn is developing a network of associates, an excellent way to stay connected with current and past friends and clients. You can also develop new contacts or use your connections to link to their contacts or that of their associates when appropriate and agreed upon by the direct contact person. To facilitate this activity, LinkedIn members create a profile and LinkedIn provides several mechanisms for connecting including subscription options with added benefits. Essentially, member profiles can be likened to a database of specialists or experts in your network and that of your network's network and even their network. You'll find LinkedIn member profiles by searching for names on the People Page, which also has an advanced search capability. See Figure 1. In addition, LinkedIn offers company profiles for large companies whose members participate.
Figure 1.
LinkedIn Answers
LinkedIn Answers is located at http://www.linkedin.com/answers?trk=hb_tab_ayn. Click on the Advanced Answers Search tab to begin a search. See Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The search engine is basic. You can search by keyword for a topic and add a category to refine the search, or search broadly by category. Beware, however, that keyword searching for an individual's answers is either incomplete or hit and miss. You'll only find the person if he/she includes his/her name in the body of the answer, essentially as a signature. Many don't bother because the answerer's name and profile link is automatically generated to the left after posting an answer but is not searchable.
Up to 500 answers are provided per question from within your network up to the third degree - that is your contacts, those of their contacts, and those of your contact's contacts. Based on my network of 229, there are more than four million others in my total network who can potentially answer questions. You can sort results by degrees away from you, relevance, or date. LinkedIn Answers has become one more substantial way to find some information but is less well known as a source. It may be hard to believe but even Google didn't find the kind of sites with needed information uncovered by those writing answers in LinkedIn for some questions I've wanted to answer.
One of the significant values of social networking is connecting with those who have direct experience with companies, products, or services and are expert in a field. A range of responses include pros and cons. Moreover, the LinkedIn Answers format encourages inclusion of links to specific sites, often leading to quality sources. Similarly, those who belong to traditional electronic discussion forums support each other by answering difficult research questions or suggesting sources and research methods. Discussions often centre on recent trends and emerging technologies. Helping with technical problems or recommending products and services based on actual experience is customary. Added benefits include the development of personal and business friendships and for those in business, referrals to each other or contracting opportunities. These same benefits apply to LinkedIn and other social networks for those willing to take some risk, although admittedly, it may be a little scary to join open Web discussions without knowing who's out there and, as professionals, it's important to scrutinize what you contribute.
Searching LinkedIn Answers, however, is essentially an anonymous activity and worthy of consideration.
Sample Questions & Answers
What kind of questions will you find answers to? Millions of questions have been posed and answered. You'll need to experiment to see if LinkedIn Answers will be helpful to you. For some questions, no answers are given, for others many are. A question about identifying new biotechnology firms yielded answers from 22 LinkedIn Members and supplied both sources and search techniques. A question about private company research resulted in a detailed response describing a method for calculating estimated revenue for U.S. private companies, valuable since that information isn't typically disclosed or is self-reported. For a question about private equity firms, my search produced valuable resources. Note that because the LinkedIn search engine is very basic, it's necessary to try various combinations of terms or phrases.
The results from differing search strings below yielded differing number of hits, each with advantageous results:
As a somewhat calculated risk taker, expert searcher, and source horse I enjoy answering questions in both discussion groups and on social networks sites such as LinkedIn. I regularly sift through questions and ply my expertise as an information professional by responding. For my most recent 30 answers - LinkedIn retains a rolling 30 - check my LinkedIn Profile and scroll down to Questions & Answers. Since one can opt out of including answers in a profile, you won't find answers provided by all LinkedIn members. Of course, many don't participate.
Other Research Applications
Use social networks to help confirm what you think or believe, and how to better or more clearly and succinctly articulate what you know. Broadly, other research applications include competitive intelligence and market research, topics for other articles suffice to say that, interestingly, one LinkedIn member with hundreds of contacts emailed those in her network asking them to participate in a primary research study. This was an interesting request and a low cost way to connect with potential responders, albeit nontraditional and questionable from the point of view of classical market research methodology. In addition, recruiters use LinkedIn for sourcing job candidates and a newer value-added corporate solution is LinkedIn Recruiter.
Caveats
When using LinkedIn Answers, carefully evaluate responses and vet those answering, something that's true for Web research and for that matter most any source used. Many answers are extremely helpful whereas others are worthless, downright incorrect, or humorous and must be taken with a grain of salt. Opinions from thought leaders and experts, however, are valuable. It's fairly simple to confirm factual answers but less easy to confirm information generated from the murky waters of opinion. LinkedIn Answers is a resource for the discriminating searcher who knows how to analyze information using the same quality criteria applied to any source: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
Conclusion
Info pros will want to use LinkedIn similarly to other databases for finding answers to a range of questions. Existing social networking sites today are the tip of the iceberg. Stay alert for social networks in your industry or field. Social networks are one source of many to consider in everyday reference and research work.
By Amelia Kassel
Amelia Kassel is President
of MarketingBase, a global firm specializing in industry, company and
competitive and market intelligence research. Amelia teaches distance
education in Online Searching, Competitive Intelligence Research, and
Information Entrepreneurship at San Jose State University School
of Library & Information Science. She also teaches for the
University of Tennessee School of Information Science and several
courses for Simmons GSLIS CE program [http://www.simmons.edu/gslis/continuinged/workshops/online.shtml#online_a2]
Amelia is author of
Super Searchers on Wall Street and contributes to information industry
publications. She operates The Mentor Program for business
researchers and independent research professionals who are starting or
expanding a business. Contact: amelia@marketingbase.com
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