I’m in LinkedIn. Every time someone that I don’t know wants to link me, here is basically what I answer:
Thank you for your request. I have a rule, I link only people I know and trust ….
The reason is pretty simple: I feel ‘responsible’ of the performance and reliability (whatever these two things mean in a given context) of my network.
One can agree or not and here is a pattern I’ve noticed in the answers I get:
- almost ALL NON ITALIAN requestors do understand and above all respect my choice,
- most of ITALIAN requestors seem offended in some way and try to justify themselves
What about you?
PierG
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September 19, 2008 at 2:23 pm
megan
PierG,
I would agree…I think that etiquette for online networks does not often translate offline, especially in different cultures, so there will always be this problem to some degree.
I have been sent three messages from one person trying to convince me that I should connect with them as my response did not resonate with them.
I then quoted what LinkedIn provides as guidance on the site:
Only accept an invitation if you know the sender and want them in your network.
Accept invitations when:
You want to stay in touch with the inviter
You know and trust their judgment and expertise
You’ve worked with them and would recommend them
They know your work and can represent your potential
Do not accept invitations when:
You don’t know the sender well (consider replying or deciding later)
If you don’t know the sender at all, click on the “I don’t know” button or “Flag as Spam” .
I think that this is generally a good response when someone is not responsive to your personal preferences.
Best of luck in navigating the stream of invitations to connect!
Megan