1. Q: My LinkedIn Stalking Habits, Revealed
Tom's Guide's Aubre Andrus tackles your thorniest tech-life questions in our experimental advice column. This week we tackle LinkedIn stalking, the future of email, Klout, and Twitter fears.
Have a question about the FAQs of (Web) Life? A query you'd like Aubre to answer? Either write your questions in the comments section below, or send a private message to Tom's Guide forums user Tomsguiderachel.
Dear Ms. Andrus,
I’ve become terrified of LinkedIn! It used to be part of my regular arsenal of Web-stalking tools for prospective employees, acquaintances and minor celebrities, but now I can’t bear to log in. At some point in the last year, LinkedIn started telling members exactly who has been viewing their profile. I didn’t get any warning this was about to happen, and more than once I’ve had someone say to me: “Why did you just look at my LinkedIn profile?” What a nightmare. Obviously, if I don’t log in, I can’t see the full profiles of most people. If Facebook institutes this policy, I may forswear social networking forever. So, I ask you, why did LinkedIn do this? Is it a trend that more profile-based sites will follow? And, more importantly, is there any way for me to continue to browse LinkedIn anonymously? If not, I’ll probably boycott it. As a citizen of the Web, and more importantly—as a hiring manager--I’m entitled to my stalking privacy, right?
Sincerely,
Freaked Out By LinkedIn
_Homepage teaser image by Paula Riley
Do you have any questions for the next installment of FAQs of (Web) Life? Questions can be about any facet of the intersection of technology and life. Send me an anonymous message at tomsguiderachel (
There was a time when everybody would use MSN messenger, e-mail accounts, blogs/photologs, etc... now its just one big thing: Facebook. For better or worse.
Another question related to LinkedIn: I'm fairly new to LinkedIn and am unsure of proper LinkedIn etiquette. When is it appropriate to ask for a connection? If you have met someone at a few different networking events, can you link to them? Or, are links really only meant for people you've worked closely with or know on a deeper level. Also, is there a different set of rules depending on the title of the potential link?