5,000 LinkedIn contacts… Now what?

I’ve just been reaching 5,000 contacts on my LinkedIn account…. And I wonder what it actually means…. In fact, I have been a LinkedIn user for 16 years. Over this time, I created contacts with lots of people: customers, colleagues, business acquaintances, people met in trade shows, speakers in conferences, people met in various contexts, people with whom I have exchanged business cards, a few non-professional friends, and even more.

In times when the Covid drastically reduces our physical social interactions, social networks become even more vital than before!

My connections are extremely diverse in terms of geography, level and role: many CEOs, marketing managers, consultants, communication experts, hardware and software developers, cryptographists, technologists, market intelligence professionals, … and even a European Commissioner!

Now, I can post my opinions on various topics and get reactions from these people. Their reactions vary from encouragements to disagreement, and sometimes I’m happy to start a debate where I see my acquaintances expressing interesting reactions and opinions about what I wrote.

Also, I am happy to learn about the carrier evolutions of distant friends and business contacts. I am happy to read their posts, to know about their achievements, to understand about their latest innovations, to expand my knowledge about what goes on in my fields of interest, … This constitutes a great and personalized information flow. Actually, what makes it great is that the information is linked to the people I know!

But, at the end of the day, what has this brought to me?

I think LinkedIn brings exposure. It helps to remind old contacts that I’m still existing. They see my posts, they see that I am active in the secure transactions industry and in market intelligence, and that I express opinions that are generally not totally irrelevant. This exposure has already led me to revive old contacts, restart a conversation, and eventually led to some business.

Also, having 5,000 contacts puts me in a position to help friends who need to get in touch with another person for jobs, business, partnerships or any other reason. Of course, when I know the people personally and understand their requests, I am happy to help! Along the years, I have helped friends find jobs and internships, leads, business, … and maybe investors.

So if we are already connected on LinkedIn, I do thank you for being a friend, a connection, someone with whom I can have significant exchanges. If you’re not yet a connection, do not hesitate to press the “Connect” button!