VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

todd ellis

i don't get this. i'm being "endorsed" by people i don't know, for things i don't do. i don't guess it bothers me that much - i just don't get it.
_________________
"i know philip banks": todd ellis
who's/on/1st?

Gregory Best · Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 10:30 am Post subject:

me either.
_________________
Gregory Best

greg@gregorybest.com

Bruce · Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 5:17 am Post subject:

I've only been endorsed by people I know (barely in some cases) for things I do, but I think the whole thing is a gimmick to keep LinkedIn top of mind for folks. LI doesn't have to do a thing as it lets members keep pushing buttons and sending you reminders of the site's existence. It doesn't get you any points, or free cookies, or anything worthwhile.

Not quite a scam yet, but what a waste of digital space.

B
_________________
VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

Philip Banks · Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 5:49 am Post subject:

I view it as a part of my over all marketing stradjuddy. Like all Socal Medium its testicles spread out across an interweb to optimate your positions in the stench engines.

If you ever attend a persons funeralisation, LinkTin is like placing your business card in the hand of the decreased shortly before the gasket lid is closed prior to cremetatment ... You never know who may read it and do a job on you.

todd ellis · Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 7:31 am Post subject:

don't get me wrong - i'm a big fan of linked in - i've gotten some great - long-term clients in that little corner of the intarwebs - including a film narration in serbia that was very cool - BUT - i'm pretty wide open with my connections with my thought process being - "what the hell, why not". so i guess my shiny-happy face pops up on people's monitor and they think "what the hell" and "endorse" me for ... whatever.
_________________
"i know philip banks": todd ellis
who's/on/1st?

Bob Bergen · CM Joined: 22 Apr 2008 Posts: 979

I posted about this on my Facebook page! When the Linked In endorsements first started, I reciprocated. After a while, I found the whole thing annoying and disingenuous. If it does any good for some, terrific! But I will no longer endorse anyone on Linked In. And you have my blessing to not endorse me!

Look, I get a lot out of social networks. The connections and work I've been able to secure from the relationships and networking I've made on Facebook are outnumbering my non Facebook marketing. If you are smart and strategic, Facebook and the like can be outstanding.

But most have no idea how to use online marketing, let alone any marketing. A smart marketer does it in a way that the person you are marketing to has no idea they are being marketed to. The last thing you want to do is look desperate and needy.

And for any marketing, you want to be ahead of the herd, not amongst it. Endorsements from people I hardly (if at all) know will do me no good. And let's face it, those endorsers are just asking for a reciprocation. If I'm going to endorse anyone, I will do it the old fashioned way. I will contact a buyer or agent directly.

Bish · Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:45 am Post subject:

I have obtained work via my (somewhat sarcastic) presence on Twitter.
I have obtained work via my friends on Facebook.
I have obtained work via my very good friends on VO-BB.
Every time I've dipped my toe into the LinkedIn pool, I've extracted it quickly and used a strong anti-bacterial toe-wash.

I'm sure that some people can play the social media & indiscriminate networking game to their advantage. To me, it doesn't pass any cost/benefit analysis. My social media activity is me being social, and anything else is pure serendipity. Basing a marketing strategy on social media is dangerous and probably alienating... as Philip says, it's the indiscriminate distribution of business cards to the point where you become an annoyance. I have always found that LinkedIn enables this shotgun approach without the "niceties" of being a social network. It seems they have reached a critical mass, and are now indiscriminate, annoying and useless.

Of course, some people are predisposed to playing this game well and will disagree with my observations. If you are one of these people, well done... but it doesn't work for me.

"Social Media id Bullsh*t" by B.J. Mendelson looks like an interesting read.
_________________
Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

ccpetersen · Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:51 am Post subject:

I use Linked In as a online business resume, however I am careful about who I link to. They need to be related to the work I do. The only exceptions I've made have been for folks in my family, but they don't seem to use it much.

About those endorsements -- they really SHOULD make sense, and some of the endorsements I get just don't do that. I mean, come on: video editing? They got that from the fact that I produce video and do VO for video, but editing? Nope. Don't think so.

So, I used to reciprocate, but no more. It's a huge waste of my time and for many people I have NO idea if they're good at what the endorsement is supposed to be for.

So now, reciprocating is just not on my big radar screen...
_________________
Charter Member: Threadjackers Local 420

Bailey · Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:51 am Post subject:

Bish · Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:57 am Post subject:

I'm pretty sure that Philip meant what he said Smile

_________________
Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

Lee Gordon · Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 11:04 am Post subject:

We can all agree that by their sheer volume and ease of use, these LinkedIn endorsements are relatively meaningless, but, as the old expression goes, "it couldn't hurt." And when the new system began, I was somewhat flattered that certain people whom I respect took the time to give me a thumbs-up. It's turned out to be a bit more pro-forma, but still, it seems like a nice, friendly gesture. Besides, it is a way to get your mug on a LinkedIn page where somebody who otherwise may not have heard of you might see it.

Under the previous system I think there was some unspoken (or, in some cases, explicitly requested) expectation that if a person endorsed you, you would reciprocate, whether he/she was worthy of endorsement or not. Now, what people lack in quality of endorsements, they can make up in quantity.

I am gradually working my way through the alphabet, endorsing people I know who have the feature activated on their profile pages. I have chosen not to be the one to "break the ice" on a page that does not already have endorsements, and I am doing my best to only select those skills I know that person actually possesses.

And whether under the old system or the new, any endorsements I hand out are given without any expectation of the favor being returned.

By the way, I have noticed that the majority of my voiceoverist connections have the "Skills & Expertise" feature enabled, while maybe only about 25% of my non-voieoverist connections do.
_________________
Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice

Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2281 Location: Atlanta

It's not a very in-depth or sincere or highly meaningful system, but it keeps one in the mind of current clients, which can't hurt. At least, this works with corporate clients and production places for corporate video.
_________________
Skype: globalvoiceover
and now, http://lanceblairvo.com the blog is there now too!

MooreVoices · Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 9:33 pm Post subject:

In my opinion, Linkedin caved.

They were one of the first professional "social" networking sites on the web.

Now, they are "following" what the ringleader is doing with these fly by night loose "associations".

I think it was a bad move. Trend follower instead of trendsetter on the decision to treat a professional mediums "endorsements" as "likes".
_________________
Freedom is not knowing your limits but realizing that you have none.