Why You Shouldnt Message Me On LinkedIn

Why You Shouldnt Message Me On LinkedIn Last week I was out of the office all week.  Two weeks earlier I was out for an entire week.  I was at camps with my kids and really didnt have access to anything online. I dutifully set up my out of office messages in my two main email systems, knowing that anyone who sent me an email would have known that I would take a few days to get back to them.  Unfortunately, I got a number of messages through LinkedIns messaging system and those people didnt get any message to let them know I was unavailable. They just got radio silence.  Sounds an awful lot like being ignored.  Or that I dont care to respond. LinkedIn is cool, for sure.  But its not the only tool you should use.  Use email, or the phone, but dont solely message people through LinkedIn. If you dont know someones email address, GET IT.  If you have it, USE IT. The other reason I suggest you dont use LinkedIn for primary or important messaging (if you arent doing important messaging, dont send the message!) is because messages from LinkedIn dont get in front of me very often.  A while back Google (Gmail) decided they needed to sift my email into three groups (they could have just named tabs 2 and 3 SPAM, right?): Guess where I spend most of my time? The Primary box. Guess where your LinkedIn message goes? NOT the Primary box. Dont use Gmail, so thats not an issue?  I suggest you check out your spam or junk folder, and see how many LinkedIn messages are in there.  That should be proof enough that you shouldnt depend on LinkedIn for sending messages. Want to get on my radar?  EMAIL ME directly. Sending me a message through LinkedIn is a gamble. How about you? Why You Shouldnt Message Me On LinkedIn Last week I was out of the office all week.  Two weeks earlier I was out for an entire week.  I was at camps with my kids and really didnt have access to anything online. I dutifully set up my out of office messages in my two main email systems, knowing that anyone who sent me an email would have known that I would take a few days to get back to them.  Unfortunately, I got a number of messages through LinkedIns messaging system and those people didnt get any message to let them know I was unavailable. They just got radio silence.  Sounds an awful lot like being ignored.  Or that I dont care to respond. LinkedIn is cool, for sure.  But its not the only tool you should use.  Use email, or the phone, but dont solely message people through LinkedIn. If you dont know someones email address, GET IT.  If you have it, USE IT. The other reason I suggest you dont use LinkedIn for primary or important messaging (if you arent doing important messaging, dont send the message!) is because messages from LinkedIn dont get in front of me very often.  A while back Google (Gmail) decided they needed to sift my email into three groups (they could have just named tabs 2 and 3 SPAM, right?): Guess where I spend most of my time? The Primary box. Guess where your LinkedIn message goes? NOT the Primary box. Dont use Gmail, so thats not an issue?  I suggest you check out your spam or junk folder, and see how many LinkedIn messages are in there.  That should be proof enough that you shouldnt depend on LinkedIn for sending messages. Want to get on my radar?  EMAIL ME directly. Sending me a message through LinkedIn is a gamble. How about you? Why You Shouldnt Message Me On LinkedIn Last week I was out of the office all week.  Two weeks earlier I was out for an entire week.  I was at camps with my kids and really didnt have access to anything online. I dutifully set up my out of office messages in my two main email systems, knowing that anyone who sent me an email would have known that I would take a few days to get back to them.  Unfortunately, I got a number of messages through LinkedIns messaging system and those people didnt get any message to let them know I was unavailable. They just got radio silence.  Sounds an awful lot like being ignored.  Or that I dont care to respond. LinkedIn is cool, for sure.  But its not the only tool you should use.  Use email, or the phone, but dont solely message people through LinkedIn. If you dont know someones email address, GET IT.  If you have it, USE IT. The other reason I suggest you dont use LinkedIn for primary or important messaging (if you arent doing important messaging, dont send the message!) is because messages from LinkedIn dont get in front of me very often.  A while back Google (Gmail) decided they needed to sift my email into three groups (they could have just named tabs 2 and 3 SPAM, right?): Guess where I spend most of my time? The Primary box. Guess where your LinkedIn message goes? NOT the Primary box. Dont use Gmail, so thats not an issue?  I suggest you check out your spam or junk folder, and see how many LinkedIn messages are in there.  That should be proof enough that you shouldnt depend on LinkedIn for sending messages. Want to get on my radar?  EMAIL ME directly. Sending me a message through LinkedIn is a gamble. How about you?