LinkedIn Park - 20 ways to use LinkedIn

Get it - Linkin Park, LinkedIn Park? Sigh, someone out there is saying "Daaavvvee" in a derogatory way. Anway, let's move on. I've been using LinkedIn, a powerful and popular networking software that is oriented toward careers; for about 3 years now.

In these times, as you've heard many times a strong network is a powerful asset. This year, I set a goal for 2009 to have 500 contacts. Here it is Q1, and to my surprise I've already blown through that goal. I'd like to share some tips with you that I've found useful:

1. Be wary of 'scalp hunting'. I've had to reign myself in a few times where my motives were probably incorrect, that is to say to get a connection for a connection's sake, rather than to connect for a valid reason.


2. Set LinkedIn as your homepage. That way I get the latest updates when I first open my browser.


3. Watch the Connection Updates section very closely. It has not been uncommon for one of my contacts to connect with someone that I had lost track of, and then connect with them.


4. Never use the "I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn." default text for connecting. Doesn't show a lot of interest. Give at least one, and preferably two reasons why you would like to connect with that person.


5. Make your invite reciprocal - when sending an invite, put yourself in the invitees shoes - why would they want to connect with you? What can you offer them?


6. Use your yearbooks - it could be tedious but go through your yearbooks every now and then and look for old classmates on LinkedIn. Don't just focus on the 'most likely to succeed" people. I found one friend I had been close to many years ago and we had fallen out of touch. It was awesome to connect with him and catch up, he's now managing an architectural firm in Tokyo!


7. Send a note once in a while. 500+ contacts is a lot of people to keep track of. Every now and then I'll send a note to one of my contacts - something along the lines of "hey just thinking of you, how's it going?" Give them an out, we're all busy: "No need to respond, just hoping all is well".


8. Browse your connections. If your connection(s) have opened up their connection list for you to view, once in a while take a peek. You may find someone you know, or someone you would like to connect with.


9. Watch for companies that have employees signing up for LinkedIn. I used to work for US Bank, and it was fascinating to see a few of my former colleagues pop up on LinkedIn, and then it spread like cream cheese on bagels! I remember one day when 50 (fifty) USB folk had joined LinkedIn.


10. Review the "who's viewed my profile". Although it may not be a direct way to connect with people, it can be interesting to see who has looked at your profile and may give you some tips. Note that it is often indirect, that is to say that you may not always know who exactly has looked at your profile.


11. Help other LinkedIn users. Remeber that what goes around, comes around! Because I do try to use a personalized connection, if someone has asked me to forward an invite to someone else I typically will know my contact well enough to not hesitate to do that.


12. I'll finish with tips on making good use of groups. Groups have provided some good contacts for me, including those who I don't know (follow tips 4&5). Groups are one of the most powerful tools on LinkedIn. Let me expand on that:


13. Look for groups related to your education, experiences, interests and/or hobbies. If we are connected, look at my groups. I not only have groups for my job experience, but other industry groups. My current position involves software, products, banks and credit unions. I look for goups in those categories.


14. Hide some of your groups. I am a member of more groups than you see on my profile. They provide me with valuable information, but I don't want to come across as pretentious on my profile.


15. Related to #12, I have had a few people want to connect with me through groups. In looking at their profile I have seen up to fifty groups or more before LinkedIn restricted membership to I think 30 groups. C'mon people! That's a sign to me of a scalp hunter. Some may disagree with me, but I call it like I see it. If you REALLY have a direction connection with a bazillion groups, hide some of them to appear more credible.


16. Hide a duplicate group. I belong to two US Bank groups (there are probably more!) but I've hidden one of them. I think one is enough to display but that's just my take on it.


17. Have a few groups related to your hobbies/non work related interests. On my profile you can see Kierkegaard. There's a whopping 17 (seventeen!) in the Kierkegaard group. It was started by a guy in europe and we've had some great conversations, as well as allowing me to make some international connections.


18. Create groups! I've created two groups you can see on my profile, Hood to Coast and Legacy Corillian. As people have requested to join, we already have one thing in common (the group of interest) and maybe more. I often will invite them to connect with me as I add them to the group. I'm not offended if they decline! A funny story - Corillian was acquired by CheckFree, then CheckFree was acquired by Fiserv. I started the Legacy Corillian group, and then received a request to join from the original CEO who founded Corillian - "uh, well....OK.....".


19. Be cautious about creating groups! I try to look for any notification that a logo is a registered trademark, with use of the logo by permission only. As a finisher of the Honolulu Marathon, I intended to create a group but will play by the rules and contact them for permission. When I get around to it!


20. Use Group Discussions. Ask a question, or respond to one. Ask or respond with validity, to not just blah blah blah but with true intent behind the question or response. Again your credibility can be ascertained so keep that in mind.

In closing, use LinkedIn with integrity. To me, it's more than a social exercise, it's people - people who can help you and that you can help. Don't abuse that privilege!

Big, Bigger, BIGGEST

I really like fabrication shows like Monster Garage, Orange County Choppers, American Chopper, American Hot Rod, etc. I really really like when they make 'big' things, and although neither of these originated on the aforementioned shows these are some of the biggest scratch built creations I've ever seen. The age old question has been answered: Just because you could, doesn't mean you should. Yes, you should. And I want one.

Maybe for Christmas this year, Janet & Mom - it's not too late to start saving now....

A really big motorcycle

Let's start with an aircraft engine. We'll take two cylinders from a radial engine, and mate them to a custom crank. Oh, and did I mention the displacment of 410 cubic inches? In a motorcycle? To inject a little bit of perspective into this scenario, my 1967 Camaro had one of the finest motors Detroit ever built, the 327 cubic inch Chevy small block. Even with 50 series tires I could smoke those skins. So, we have 83 more cubic inches and approximately 2,000 less pounds curb weight. Unfortunately I could not find if the builder, Clemens Leonhardt; ever finished his monster creation. Let the pictures however speak for themselves the rest of this narrative:

A really big car

What would you do if you had a 1941 Seagraves hook and ladder fire truck? Well of course you would create a sports car out of it, wouldn't you? That's what Michael Leeds did. You would chop, section and box the frame. You would hand craft the body and fenders. You would preserve the original front grill. But, you would still have 9,600 pounds of car to lug around.

Not to worry, gentle reader. You would restore the original 980 cubic inch V-12 engine. Because it was built to idle for long periods at fire scenes, the engine has redundant iginition - 2 plugs per cylinder, two distributors and four coils. The pan holds 25 quarts of oil! The original Easton four speed transmission is used. Known as a 'crash box' as most trannys of the day did not have synchronization, the lost art of double clutching is used.

Behold, Big Bertha:

It's a small world, after all....

When I was a kid at Disneyland, we were in the "Small World" ride when the soundtrack broke. All of the little mechanical puppets were squeaking, clanking and making robotic noises that were usually masked by the music. It was kind of a surreal experience.

Just like last Thursday evening at a wedding rehearsal. The bride introduced me to her father, and we had this odd, twilight zone thing going on. Finally he said "I know you from somewhere" and I agreed. We started going through the list - the gym, church, laundromat, favorite restaurant, college?!?

Finally he asked if I was a runner. Yep, I replied. He hit it - turns out we were on a Hood to Coast team we approximated at about 10-11 years ago! Hadn't see him since. But wait - it gets a little weirder. I love to read, and when I traveled heavily I would cart 2-3 big books around in my bag. One of my favorites was (is) a double volumn by Tom Wolfe that includes the Bonfire of the Vanities, and the Right Stuff.

For years, I have lugged that book around - from Minneapolis to the city of Mt. Shasta, from L.A. to Lahaina - I read it here there and everywhere. Why is this relevant? In that book - again for years now - I have a business card that I use as a bookmark. It was the team captain of our team that year.

Kind of weird. OK, maybe not so much. But it is a small world after all.

West Side Story - 2007

When you're a jet you are a jet forever - most of you are too young to understand the reference but if you can, go rent the musical. It's worth watching.

Fast forward to 2007. My friend Charlie is the captain of the Woodburn police department. Although Woodburn is a small town, it has it's gang related issues. Recently Charlie recounted to me how 4 members of the 18th street gang had went to a 7-11, and 2 stayed in the car and 2 stayed in the store. Then, 2 members of the 13th street gang pulled into the parking lot. How many gang members were left? Sounds like one of those jokes where you have 10 gang members going to Chicago, in Philadelphia 3 get off and 9 get on...etc, etc.

Anyway, there was an altercation of course that culminated in an agreement to meet in the park at midnight. Unfortunately a shooting occurred with a bullet going through the back of a guy's shoulder as he was running away and exited out of the front of his shoulder, blowing the joint to smithereens.

Charlie used to work for the Lake Oswego police force. Now Lake Oswego is an affluent suburb of Portland. It's the kind of place where people walk around with a little doggie in a sweater in their purses. It's the kind of place where you have a near mansion overlooking the lake and a few $100,000 cars in the garage.

It's the kind of a place where at a wonderful restaurant called Blinn's Boathouse where you can get the best pizza you have ever had, sit out on the back patio and watch the rich people motor up in their restored Chris-Craft boats. It's the kind of a place where an anonymous seaplane might land.

Now, gentle reader; lest you think I'm being pejorative I will say some of my LO friends are the nicest, most generous people I know.

But Charlie and I had a bit of fun postulating a gang war in Lake Oswego compared with the gang war in Charlie's town. Let us recount a fictional news story as reported in the Lake Oswego Review:

An altercation broke out Saturday night between two rival high school gangs. Some members of the A Street Animals alledgedly flashed a gang sign at the Country Club Crushers. Conflict was inevitable as the Animals hold turf at Starbucks, while the Crushers own Peet's. According to witness Carlton Crumpet the Animals and Crushers agreed to meet at midnight at Millenium Park.

At the appointed hour the gangs faced off. Nervous tension filled the air as the Animals and the Crushers faced off. As the boys arrayed themselves into battle formation, their girlfriends watched nervously from the sidelines, clutching their little doggies tucked protectively in their Hermes' handbags.

Suddeny, the fray erupted. To the dismay of the Crushers the Animals had brought their Lacrosse sticks. But the Crushers also had weapons at the ready. They began hurling half pound bags of Peet's coffee at the Animals! The Animals began swinging at the bags wildly at the flying containers of coffee, spilling the expensive beans across the battle ground. Soon the air was filled with the aroma of Peet's unique roasting style that results in a rich complex taste.

As the Animals began to lose their footing, defeat at the hands of the Crushers an unexpected turn of developments ensued. Seeing their boyfriends being pushed back by the bags of coffee whistling through the air like medieval catapult loads, the Animal's girlfriends entered the scene and wildly began to fling their Manolo Blahnik pumps at the Crushers. The dagger like heels quickly drove the Crushers back.

The police had arrived at the scene, and strategized a way to end the conflict. Climbing to the top of nearby trendy boutiques, they dropped coupons for free bikini waxes into the crazed crowds as the boys and girls began to tussle! To their delight the strategy worked! Even some of the girls got coupons.

We rode the tram! We rode the tram!

It began with this weird looking tower being constructed on the east side of I-5 just as begins to dump right into downtown Portland. I was (and still am) fascinated by it's unique architecture, looking like any moment it would topple to the ground and crush hapless motorists on the freeway below.

Eventually I found that it was the support tower for the Portland Tram. Ahhhh - the Portland Tram!

Like any project of this magnitude it was not without issues, particularly budget. Significantly over budget already, cost overruns followed cost overruns. Initially budgeted for $15.5 million, the project came in at $57 million! That's over twice what I make in a year! Leaving a fired program director in it's wake, the spiraling budget almost ground the project to a halt and abandonment.



Well, now it's finished and working great. Our friends Ed & Fern called us up one night a few weeks ago and said "let's go ride the tram". Sure, why not ride the tram? Also it was a cheap date as in the month of February rides were free, now the fare is 4 bucks for a round trip ticket.


There are two cabins, but I think a more appropriate moniker would be "eggs". Like silvery orbs escaping the gentle puff of a child with a bubble pipe they float above the Portland cityscape in a steady but unhurried pace.




Here's the (boring) technical description: The Tram cabins travel 3,300 linear feet between the South Waterfront terminal adjacent to the OHSU Center for Health & Healing, and the upper terminal at the Kohler Pavilion on OHSU's main campus. Traveling at 22 miles per hour, the Tram cabins rise 500 feet for the three-minute trip over I-5, the Lair Hill neighborhood and the Southwest Terwilliger Parkway.


22 miles per hours is not blindingly fast, but when the eggs pass one another you get a sense of speed that is a unique sensation. Now here's the cool part they don't tell you - as the egg ascends up to and then passes over the crest of the tower there is a marked drop that will surprise you! Not scary enough to make kids cry, but more than you would expect. We rode the tram for six round trip cycles and after the first few times of jockeying for a window view from the cabin, I would strategically position myself right in the middle with the aid of a support rail. Passing over the tower gave me the opportunity to surf, if you will; the sudden descent. Woo hoo!


When the cabins dock, it is also very cool. It doesn't take much imagination to pretend that you are in a shuttle docking at a space station. I also enjoyed looking at the mechanics of the tram operations with the cables, wheels and counterweights.


My favorite part of the experience? Because the tram connects the OHSU Center for Health & Healing to Oregon Health & Sciences University (or as we locals call it - "pill hill") one would expect an extraordinary concern for safety and the tram has much redundancy and controls installed to reassure and reinforce how stable and safe the experience is. Note though that the concern for safety stretches beyond the tram itself to the Center for Health & Healing as demonstrated by this sign affixed above the toilets:

"Toilets and urinals are flushed with reclaimed water - do not drink"

Thank you! As it is not my habit to drink out of a toilet I'm sure that the admonition will apply to others who may occasionally succumb to the temptation.

For more about the tram you can visit here and here.

Bet your city doesn't have this...

You can purchase bumper stickers in Music Millenium that say this: "Keep Portland Weird". An example you ask? Let me give you one. Here in Portland we have lots of racing enthusiasm. We've got car racing, dog racing, the Portland Marathon, triathlons, duathlons, a velodrome for bicyle racing, criteriums, remote control car racing, motorcycle racing etc etc etc. It's quite possible that your city also has one or more of these.

But here's one example Portland is weird, and I bet your city doesn't have goldfish racing. Yeah, let me say it again: goldfish racing. At the Mt. Hood bowling lanes, in the lounge you will find two ten foot long troughs. Two goldfish await in their stalls (plastic cups filled with water). An eager tension fills the air, as the goldfish paw and buck like broncos before a buckin'.

At the count of 1-2-3! The contestants are transferred to their respective troughs, while their trainers coax them down the lane with spray bottles like firefighters putting out a kitchen fire.

The excitement is reported in the 11/17 Oregonian:

"The black-tipped fish (Lexex) sprints, but Cuervo gallops ahead, with a fiery kick at the finish line (a pink cocktail stirrer, taped to the end of the trough)."

Although it's gaining popularity, bet your city doesn't have this.

Now that's a dessert!

Sherry holds a nutrition/weight loss class at our home on Wednesday nights. I usually sequester myself in my home office, and eavesdrop a little bit whilst consuming my frozen pizza. Sherry would kill me if she even knew I was considering the following "destination dessert" served at Le Pigeon (Portland, OR). Now if I can convince my doctor that I need to bring my cholesterol levels up a skosh:

"Young Turk chef Cabriel Rucker begins with a philosophy: desserts shouldn't be too sweet, and a few unexpected savory notes wouldn't hurt a bit. His corn bread, mixed with minced apricots, has a soft cakey crumble. The ample block arrives with creamy maple ice cream, all hit with little cubes of warm, salty bacon to get the melting process - and the adventure - going. All this, plus maple syrup drizzles plumped with bacon fat".

Yummy, I can almost feel the fat just sliding right into my cells with nary a word of introduction.