Comments on: Innovation + LinkedIn: Where is the value? http://www.15inno.com/2009/05/14/innovation-linkedin/ Open innovation, social media tools and intrapreneurship Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:07:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Martin Silcock http://www.15inno.com/2009/05/14/innovation-linkedin/comment-page-1/#comment-198 Martin Silcock Fri, 15 May 2009 17:16:02 +0000 http://www.15inno.com/?p=503#comment-198 You might be interested in my 9 point earning on getting deeper conversations going on Linkedin from participation in the Consumer Insight Group http://explorate.wordpress.com/2009/05/14/linkedin-discussion-groups-how-to-stimulate-deeper-longer-conversations/ Martin You might be interested in my 9 point earning on getting deeper conversations going on Linkedin from participation in the Consumer Insight Group

http://explorate.wordpress.com/2009/05/14/linkedin-discussion-groups-how-to-stimulate-deeper-longer-conversations/

Martin

]]> By: Emily http://www.15inno.com/2009/05/14/innovation-linkedin/comment-page-1/#comment-197 Emily Fri, 15 May 2009 12:40:03 +0000 http://www.15inno.com/?p=503#comment-197 Hi Stefan, I have been playing around with LinkedIn for quite a while now but only recently (last 6 months) started joining groups. I have found that there are a few challenges. - When you work for a large multinational, a large portion of your network are your extended co-workers. Great for keeping connected, but not necessarily the forum you would use to have discussions. - Cultural - as an engineer (previously in larger R&D org, now in international engineeirng firm) I find that my colleagues are not convinced about social networking, seeing it as a "fun activity" as opposed to advancing the work. We tried to get more technical discussions going on in our internal communities but found it challenging. - Groups - I have to say that so far I have used the groups to find the blogs I want to follow, like yours, but otherwise have not found a lot of great content on the groups themselves. Having read your post, I think I need to spend more time experimenting with different groups until I find the ones that are most useful to me. Thanks, Em Hi Stefan,

I have been playing around with LinkedIn for quite a while now but only recently (last 6 months) started joining groups. I have found that there are a few challenges.
- When you work for a large multinational, a large portion of your network are your extended co-workers. Great for keeping connected, but not necessarily the forum you would use to have discussions.
- Cultural – as an engineer (previously in larger R&D org, now in international engineeirng firm) I find that my colleagues are not convinced about social networking, seeing it as a “fun activity” as opposed to advancing the work. We tried to get more technical discussions going on in our internal communities but found it challenging.
- Groups – I have to say that so far I have used the groups to find the blogs I want to follow, like yours, but otherwise have not found a lot of great content on the groups themselves. Having read your post, I think I need to spend more time experimenting with different groups until I find the ones that are most useful to me.

Thanks,

Em

]]> By: Paul Hobcraft http://www.15inno.com/2009/05/14/innovation-linkedin/comment-page-1/#comment-196 Paul Hobcraft Fri, 15 May 2009 11:34:08 +0000 http://www.15inno.com/?p=503#comment-196 Stefan, Like you I often think how can you extract more value out of Linked In and its incredible community. As you rightly say the practitioners are the silent majority and getting their participation and contribution is key to learning more from innovation- how it works, why it works and where it works. I took the route to join a large number of groups (presently 25) and am finding many of them lacking the sustaining power, yet we seem to be getting even more! I'd like to see a few good, lively groups than this fragmenting of the innovation message where the practitioners often never see or quickly click off or it lacks appeal to them- just take a look at many of the messages, they centre on what they want out of it. I would argue this is where LinkedIn needs a change in strategy. It has added much in the recent years to see its value multiply but its general 'open' appeal limits it down I feel when you get into specialisation. Even you have decided to limit group members for Leadership+Innovation but why really? Picking up on two immediate barriers- reducing down this fragmented innovation message into a few good, thriving groups would help to encourage greater participation but Most people are too old-hmmm. Not sure if I can agree with you on that one. Drawing comparison to Facebook I can see but it does have two different types of audience or should do. LinkedIn should be more business contact minded, Facebook more social contact minded and having more older people on this is part of its appeal, Older is not age related it is knowledge and experience related for me and LinkedIn needs to draw this out more. Where you are pointing to something that does have interesting possibility is in peer-to-peer conversations. If you take the open innovation principle of connecting to work on a topic or challenge then this is where peer-to-peer can grow. We need to build topics more into conversations that are relevant to the practitioners so practitioners will get drawn more in Regards Paul Stefan,
Like you I often think how can you extract more value out of Linked In and its incredible community. As you rightly say the practitioners are the silent majority and getting their participation and contribution is key to learning more from innovation- how it works, why it works and where it works. I took the route to join a large number of groups (presently 25) and am finding many of them lacking the sustaining power, yet we seem to be getting even more! I’d like to see a few good, lively groups than this fragmenting of the innovation message where the practitioners often never see or quickly click off or it lacks appeal to them- just take a look at many of the messages, they centre on what they want out of it. I would argue this is where LinkedIn needs a change in strategy. It has added much in the recent years to see its value multiply but its general ‘open’ appeal limits it down I feel when you get into specialisation. Even you have decided to limit group members for Leadership+Innovation but why really?

Picking up on two immediate barriers- reducing down this fragmented innovation message into a few good, thriving groups would help to encourage greater participation but
Most people are too old-hmmm. Not sure if I can agree with you on that one. Drawing comparison to Facebook I can see but it does have two different types of audience or should do. LinkedIn should be more business contact minded, Facebook more social contact minded and having more older people on this is part of its appeal, Older is not age related it is knowledge and experience related for me and LinkedIn needs to draw this out more.
Where you are pointing to something that does have interesting possibility is in peer-to-peer conversations. If you take the open innovation principle of connecting to work on a topic or challenge then this is where peer-to-peer can grow. We need to build topics more into conversations that are relevant to the practitioners so practitioners will get drawn more in
Regards
Paul

]]> By: Kristoffer Gandrup-M http://www.15inno.com/2009/05/14/innovation-linkedin/comment-page-1/#comment-193 Kristoffer Gandrup-M Fri, 15 May 2009 08:50:22 +0000 http://www.15inno.com/?p=503#comment-193 I think an important thing to add is that in the current situation there is even more reason why people should use LinkedIn. Everybody is getting squeezed to the core on budget - especially within such areas as innovation. This should make all of us who is working with innovation to make use of low-cost tools/resources and to ramp on ideas for how to improve innovation once the environment starts looking better. I think an important thing to add is that in the current situation there is even more reason why people should use LinkedIn. Everybody is getting squeezed to the core on budget – especially within such areas as innovation. This should make all of us who is working with innovation to make use of low-cost tools/resources and to ramp on ideas for how to improve innovation once the environment starts looking better.

]]> By: Claus Rode http://www.15inno.com/2009/05/14/innovation-linkedin/comment-page-1/#comment-195 Claus Rode Fri, 15 May 2009 08:29:01 +0000 http://www.15inno.com/?p=503#comment-195 Hi Stefan, I have just started spending more time on LinkedIn. I will test it for a period i.e. by working more in the groups (Just started one myself "Rapid Innovation) and communicating more with my own connections. I will do this for a period to see what I gain from it. If nothing changes and I cannot see the value of my efforts I need to look elsewere. I realize that networking is important for your working life (and social) but like in all other situations we need to select methods that will give us the most "Bang for the Buck". Looking in my comments above it seems like I want this and I want that, but it works both ways. Offcourse I want something out of it, but I am also more than willing to help others if posible. That is how it works. Have a nice weekend - B.r Claus Hi Stefan,

I have just started spending more time on LinkedIn. I will test it for a period i.e. by working more in the groups (Just started one myself “Rapid Innovation) and communicating more with my own connections. I will do this for a period to see what I gain from it. If nothing changes and I cannot see the value of my efforts I need to look elsewere.

I realize that networking is important for your working life (and social) but like in all other situations we need to select methods that will give us the most “Bang for the Buck”.

Looking in my comments above it seems like I want this and I want that, but it works both ways. Offcourse I want something out of it, but I am also more than willing to help others if posible. That is how it works.

Have a nice weekend – B.r Claus

]]> By: patrick http://www.15inno.com/2009/05/14/innovation-linkedin/comment-page-1/#comment-194 patrick Fri, 15 May 2009 08:24:53 +0000 http://www.15inno.com/?p=503#comment-194 Hello stephan, Very interresting post as usual. I have to admit that I am not active enough on the groups I am in on linkedIn. One of the reason is sometime the lack of time even if I spend the time to read almost all of the posts in the various groups I participate. I fully agree with you we are all pushing for open innovation and on the other hand we are showing a poor acitivty in networking which is the first step for open innovation. As the group(Leadership+Innovation) is not so big and it is a good thing I would propose to try to add dynamic. One proposal could be that each of us we add on top of our profesionnal objectives a personnal one which is to involve at least one of our peer in the group at solving one of our issues and then report it to the group through a post cosigned by the group members who have been involved in the job. Like you I strongly beklieve that a group made of practionners should have a lot to share and even more to gain, up to us to make it happen. We can't complain about how difficult it is to promote innovation in our respective companies and not using the incredible experience of our peers to help each others. Any comment or other ideas are welcome cheers. patrick. Hello stephan,

Very interresting post as usual. I have to admit that I am not active enough on the groups I am in on linkedIn.

One of the reason is sometime the lack of time even if I spend the time to read almost all of the posts in the various groups I participate. I fully agree with you we are all pushing for open innovation and on the other hand we are showing a poor acitivty in networking which is the first step for open innovation.

As the group(Leadership+Innovation) is not so big and it is a good thing I would propose to try to add dynamic.

One proposal could be that each of us we add on top of our profesionnal objectives a personnal one which is to involve at least one of our peer in the group at solving one of our issues and then report it to the group through a post cosigned by the group members who have been involved in the job.

Like you I strongly beklieve that a group made of practionners should have a lot to share and even more to gain, up to us to make it happen.

We can’t complain about how difficult it is to promote innovation in our respective companies and not using the incredible experience of our peers to help each others.

Any comment or other ideas are welcome
cheers.
patrick.

]]> By: Braden Kelley http://www.15inno.com/2009/05/14/innovation-linkedin/comment-page-1/#comment-192 Braden Kelley Thu, 14 May 2009 20:56:01 +0000 http://www.15inno.com/?p=503#comment-192 Hello Stefan, I participate a little bit in LinkedIn groups, but I know for me that it is only sporadic because there are so many places to participate (blogs, Twitter, facebook, etc.). I must say that I was inspired by your post to start a group on LinkedIn: Continuous Innovation (it's on page 2 right now - but hopefully it will be on page 1 by the time you read this) - <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/groupsDirectory?results=&sik=1242330826965&pplSearchOrigin=GLHD&keywords=continuous+innovation" rel="nofollow">http://www.linkedin.com/groupsDirectory?results=&...</a> All the best, Braden (@innovate on Twitter) Hello Stefan,

I participate a little bit in LinkedIn groups, but I know for me that it is only sporadic because there are so many places to participate (blogs, Twitter, facebook, etc.).

I must say that I was inspired by your post to start a group on LinkedIn:

Continuous Innovation
(it's on page 2 right now – but hopefully it will be on page 1 by the time you read this)
- http://www.linkedin.com/groupsDirectory?results=&…

All the best,

Braden
(@innovate on Twitter)

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