Linked in

One of the social networking sites that I have begun to use recently is Linked in.  This site allows me to add people that I know and have worked with, sends me potential connections based on who I have already added, and allows me to search the connections of my friends.  It also offers an option to search for people based on their careers or the companies in which they work for.  In Boyds article it is discussed that this is one of the sns that came around during the big boom in the early 2000s.  It took the opportunity to become a tool for the business world, almost fulfilling a business 'niche' really. 

Unlike other sns sites, the primary appeal of this is to network with the people your friends or co-workers might know.  There is a function to request and introduction from a mutual friend.  This is useful if while searching a friends profile you see that their cousin happens to work for a company in your field, or some similar situation.  I think that this works very differently than sites like facebook which to me are primarily social sites.

I think that right now, while the job market is worse than ever, sites like this can be a huge help.  It is tough to find an opening in any field unless you know someone, or if you know someone who knows someone.  But that information isn't always easy to find out.  Your friends might not realize that their friend from highschool is now a lawyer working at your dream firm.  This site, as Boyd points out, makes this apparent by making social networks something tangible and visible.