What Is LinkedIn InMaps?
Why you should know about LinkedIn InMaps!
Have you ever wondered what your network looked like? Or how your the people in your networks are intertwined? Well that’s why the data scientists at LinkedIn created LinkedIn InMaps.
How It Works – LinkedIn InMaps
LinkedIn InMaps trawls through all of your connections and finds the relationships that exist. Then it connects groups together into little clusters. Although some people in your clusters will branch out to other groups, for the most part each cluster’s “glue” that keeps them together is a shared quality. For example your fraternity at University of Texas, your old internship at Dell, or that writing collective you joined. You’ll be surprised how much LinkedIn InMaps reveals about you and your connections. Seriously, its like a trippy visual of Malcolm Gladwell’s “Tipping Point,” there are your connectors, mavens, and salesmen, all beautifully arranged and color coded.
What It Looks Like – LinkedIn InMaps
LinkedIn InMaps doesn’t resemble a map in the traditional sense. There are no borders, or countries on LinkedIn InMaps, rather it is color coded connect the dot board with each color representing a different group in your professional universe. Like a normal map, it contains a legend for each color represented. Your job is to fill in the legend and define each particular color group with a name that accurately describes that network of people. For example like mentioned above: University of Texas.
How It’s Beneficial – LinkedIn InMaps
By now you are thinking, okay this is a map that looks really cool, but how is LinkedIn InMaps going to help me in my professional life? Well as you define your groups, you may see an area that is under represented. It’s time to go to the search menu and add more connections. LinkedIn InMaps is genius, because it allows the user to shape their professional network into what they desire it to be.
Learn From The Influencers – LinkedInMaps
LinkedIn InMaps doesn’t only let you see how your networks are separated into certain groups, but it also shows you who in your network are the most influential. LinkedIn InMaps makes certain dots and fonts larger to display a connection that has the most connections or a further reach than others in your professional circle. Now its time to reach out to these folks and find out some of their techniques and tricks for building their business network to such epic proportions.
Share It With The World – LinkedIn InMaps
LinkedInMaps allows you to view your personal map in a different page they call your “landing page”, it comes with a cool header that says, “The Map of (Your Name)”. There is an option for sharing it on your other social networking pages such as Twitter and Facebook. This way all of your friends can see just how much more business savvy you are than them. Seriously though, this could be a great way to start a discussion with friends about how your networks are intertwined and what that means for each others businesses. Some really exciting observations can be made that could lead to potentially groundbreaking connections for your business.
Visualize The Future – LinkedIn InMaps
LinkedIn InMaps can show who you know, how they know each other, where you need to grow, and who you need to talk to, why are you waiting, go ahead and get LinkedIn! Check out inmaps.linkedinlabs.com for a great video from the data scientist that innovated InMaps.