CIO

LinkedIn Primer: everything you need to know about the social network for professionals

Our LinkedIn guide delivers expert advice on how to build a strong profile, practice good etiquette, manage connections and recommendations, and stand out to recruiters and employers with the social networking service. You'll also find analysis on how to take your LinkedIn use to the next level with company profiles, free applications, and more.

Practice Polite LinkedIn Etiquette

LinkedIn Etiquette: Five Dos and Don'ts

Knowing how to interact with your connections on the professional social network isn't always as straightforward as it seems. Here are five cardinal rules that you should follow.

Improve your social networking etiquette IQ with our expert advice on some sticky situations you see on LinkedIn and other social networking sites. How can you politely decline friend or connection requests? Effectively introduce yourself to someone who doesn't know you well? Thoughtfully connect two contacts? We've got answers.

Build a Strong LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn Profiles: Avoid the Six Most Common Mistakes

Are mistakes on your LinkedIn profile costing you possible job opportunities? Check out this expert advice on LinkedIn profile pitfalls.

With so many people job hunting now, you've got more competition than ever on LinkedIn. So how do you make your LinkedIn profile work best for you? Here are some practical tips for standing out from the crowd and reaching potential employers.

How to Manage LinkedIn Connections

On LinkedIn, Who Should You Connect With?

You've signed up for LinkedIn, because everyone says it's the primary business social network. But to whom should you connect? Your strategy should differ from your approach to Facebook.

When it comes to LinkedIn connections, some people believe more is better, creating huge networking circles. But that approach has prompted debate, with even some people inside LinkedIn saying that's a risky strategy. Here are three good reasons to beware of having too many LinkedIn connections.

How to Utilise LinkedIn Company Profiles

How to Use LinkedIn Company Profiles For Job Hunt, Networking

Company profile pages on LinkedIn can help you tune into a company's comings and goings, executive relationships and key business facts. Here's how to search and use LinkedIn Company Profiles to your best advantage.

How to Get the Most from LinkedIn Recommendations

LinkedIn Recommendations: Five Ways to Make The Most of Them

As potential employers or recruiters peruse your work experience on LinkedIn, recommendations from past and present colleagues can be one of the most helpful features to help communicate your value. Here are five tips for doing the most good for yourself with LinkedIn recommendations.

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LinkedIn Free Apps: What They Can Do for You

New LinkedIn Apps Platform Overview

Since LinkedIn launched its application platform, the social network for professionals must carefully vet what technologies get added to the site, ensuring that they honor users' privacy while bolstering productivity.

LinkedIn's getting down to business with a platform of free apps. Here's a hands-on look at what the first batch of those apps can do for you, from presentation help to travel tools.

LinkedIn's New Free Apps: Review, Part One

Here's a look at the rest of LinkedIn's apps currently available on the new LinkedIn App Platform. They run the gamut, from presentations to file sharing to what you're reading.

LinkedIn's New Free Apps: Review, Part Two

The Ins and Outs of Open Networking on LinkedIn

LinkedIn's Most Unusual Members: Meet The Super-Connected

LinkedIn open networkers, or LIONs, accept almost all LinkedIn connection requests and introduce strangers out of good will. Here's a look at this controversial group and its approximately 16,000 members who'd like to be known as the saints of social networking, but are sometimes called spammers.

LinkedIn has imposed new restrictions on the number of connections any one person can have, say members of the LinkedIn open networkers, a controversial group that accepts almost all LinkedIn connection requests. The group appears to be walking an increasingly fine line with the social network.

Analysis of LinkedIn, the company

LinkedIn vs. Facebook: Is the "Boring" Underdog Poised to Beat Its Flashy Competitor?

Despite the spotlight on Facebook and its massive user base, the social network's more professional competitor, LinkedIn, is poised for profitability and more immediate financial success. Analysts also say investors see revenue potential for LinkedIn that extends beyond advertising.

C.G. Lynch covers Google, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook for CIO.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @cglynch.