The Language of LinkedInDr. Anna Marie Trester

What’s LinkedIn FOR?

Misconceptions proliferate about LinkedIn

Just for job seekers “LinkedIn sends me all these messages”“what it returns is just not applicable to me”Not for academicsFacebook but boring

Network

What if we thought about it this way?

https://hbr.org/2016/08/to-innovate-think-like-a-19th-century-barn-raiser

• There are probably connections to people here that have nothing to do with DC, this course, the Humanities.

• What questions would you ask to help you get at degrees of connection that you share?

• What brought you here today?

• Places you have lived / worked / studied

• People you know in common

• Hobbies / interests

• Organizations you have connections to....

A networking simulation

Metaphor LinkedIn uses

Metaphors that I use

The world’s largest repository of information about work

A note about settings before we start

The many worlds of LinkedIn

Menu bar

Newsfeed

Status update

Profile views

Suggested connections

A story

A model for interacting on LinkedIn

Locutionary Act - the performance of an utterance: the actual utterance and its ostensible meaning, comprising phonetic, phatic and rhetic acts corresponding to the verbal, syntactic and semantic aspects of any meaningful utterance

Illocutionary Act - the pragmatic 'illocutionary force' of the utterance, thus its intended significance as a socially valid verbal action

Perlocutionary Act - its actual effect, such as persuading, convincing, scaring, enlightening, inspiring, or otherwise getting someone to do or realize something, whether intended or not (Austin 1962)

Profile headline, summary, education, work, linking out,

Updatessharing content, announcements, broad requests

(“anyone know a storytelling facilitator?”) can be linked with Twitter feed

Articles longer-form writing: think of articles as being like blogs - LinkedIn’s blogging platform, pulse.

Group conversations introducing yourself to a group (many groups

still are private, need to request to join), asking for things, giving things

Messages (Instant Messages)

work anniversaries, congratulating someone on a new job, reaching out to (re)connect

Language on LinkedIn

• companies you follow

• # of connections

• groups that you are a part of

• tagline (positioning move)

• endorsements

Information given/given off

Talking about Yourself

! 71 profiles! Viewed as “public”! Coded for

! Age, Gender, Industry! # of connections,

recs, sections & words used

! Location (by country)

Pilot Study! I evaluate domestic and international credentials…! Evaluate domestic and international credentials…! Evaluates domestic and international credentials…! She evaluates domestic and international credentials…! Alison evaluates domestic and international

credentials…! We evaluate domestic and international credentials…! Domestic and international credential evaluation…

By professional sector

Your summary - wide open space

Interaction

A “connecting” conversation

Conversation con’t

Conversation con’t

The ask

Invite me to connect

linkedin.com/annamarietrester

Request an Introduction

• Imagine that you are asking someone to introduce you to someone else

• Why are you reaching out to this person? (What about them made you want to reach out? What are you looking for?)

• 2 whys (why them to do the introducing and why the person to whom you want to be introduced)?

Make an Introduction

Write on your own for a few minutes.

Some last thoughts

Ways to learn more

https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/530/educational-webinars-about-linkedin?

...and many more

www.lynda.com

Dr. Anna Marie Trester@careerlinguist

careerlinguist.com