Why should I connect with you on LinkedIn?

What is the reason for being connected to 3,459 people on LinkedIn if I do not know who they are and what they stand for? What if someone asks me to introduce them to someone I am connected with – but do not even know? To me, it just becomes too superficial.

That said, I very seldom get such requests to introduce someone to others and a recent online discussion made me reconsider my approach to LinkedIn. The discussion prompted questions like these: Should I view LinkedIn as more of a “see how many I am connected with” rather than a picture of my real network? Should I just connect with everyone and expand my reach even though I find my reach to be just fine...