Nice idea Gordon!
Since my last post I've decided to get on the case with my membership and start up my network.
It strikes me that there's a few ways it could prove useful:
• you can get people to endorse / recommend you, and this is part of what people see when they check out your profile. Can't hurt.
• there are various groups you can join - these are now easily searchable. For example, I've been looking for groups for freelancers, to spread the word about a coaching program I'm developing.
• there are facilities for posting questions and answering them - a great opportunity for getting known, establishing yourself as someone who has expertise in a particular field, and being helpful all at once.
It's only been a couple of weeks since I really started to use it, so it's too early to say how useful it'll be. However I think it looks promising. I think what's important is keeping an open mind as to how best to make it work for me, and look out for opportunities.
I'm thinking of it as an additional part of my web presence which I'll be joining up with the other bits. Perhaps we could make a Scottish Business Forums group on LinkedIn, to spread awareness of SBF!
Mark