Kiwi Scrum

August 2009, Newsletter

Hello Everyone,

Kiwi Scrum has 1153+ members. Even so, far too few New Zealand business leaders are represented here. You can change that, I can't. Invite your NZ friends to join. Do your own business and community a service and invite people with very few contacts. Your FRIENDS deserve to be members here. Make that happen.

Group Statistics: Top Quartile 8500 to 210 connections; Second Quartile 209 to 110 connections; The median therefore is 110; Third Quartile 109 to 54 connections; Bottom Quartile; less than 54 connections.

Generally people who have enough knowledge of LinkedIn to join groups are far advanced over the median LinkedIn user who has fewer than 10 connections. (See a nice example at the bottom: The median for that group is ONE.)

The February LinkedIn hint:

Have you found on the profile page of your contacts, "Your private info about Xxxxxx" When you exchange notes with your new contacts extract a small part of the letter they sent you, the essence of how you can help this person, and include it in the "notes" part of "Your private info about" on the right. SAVE it. Next time you return to that profile the reminder note will be there.

The Useful Common:

There's been huge interest in the last month in the prospect of NZ companies understanding and embracing the social Internet. The Useful Common provides access to other people who are already actively engaged online. (There is a short video too.) The simple process of inviting people into your LinkedIn network enlarges your own vision. Take a little interest in each person. Exchange thank-you notes. If the opportunity to start a conversation opens up, take it.

I was reminded today of the roots of the Social Internet. That is a Document called the "Cluetrain Manifesto" which every company executive should read. Copyright © 1999 Levine, Locke, Searls & Weinberger. I've prepared a shortened version for you here.

Engage with other people and Groups:

As "The Network Ambassador" I believe in doing the hardest work myself. I regularly invite people with very few contacts, (less than 30) to join Kiwi Scrum, or to join another LinkedIn Group, or to connect directly to me. I have done so for years as many of you will know from personal experience. This is NOT the most obvious and productive strategy. People who have small numbers of connections don't understand why "5" connections to the people they know isn't "enough". Often they don't respond, if they ever open the mail. The way through this defensive wall is via social connection. So I ask again, have you engaged with your social connections? We each have a part to play.

Invitations

90 people (Low connections, mostly group contacts) who joined my network, increased my second degree by 190, and my third degree by 270, for each connection.

12 people today (Invited last night, all 2nd degree, all 500+), responded within 24 hours, and increased my second degree by 542, and my third degree by 550, for each connection.

BUT, there's always a "but", perhaps the most important new connection I've made this month, was connected to me as a group member only, and had only 12 connections. Time will tell, but this guy's got lots of energy, ideas, and the ability to communicate. He was sleeping, but now he's flying. How many of your own contacts are "asleep"?

Volunteers

I've talked about the importance of voluntary groups every month the almost two years here. I've been active in my own street setting up a discussion list for the street. I was FEARFUL of rejection, not without cause. People were enormously suspicious, not against it, many even enthusiastic to my face, but passive and reluctant to act to make it happen. We set up a site at Online Groups and asked them to enrol. NOTHING happened. I went door to door and collected email addresses (This is now my third visit.) and people were helpful. Now I invite people to join, and we've "suddenly" got about 87 members on our street list. There is a discussion developing. It feels good, but it hasn't been easy.

The Value of Company Outreach

Talking about companies and the Social Internet. Take any company you like, and do an advanced search on LinkedIn for current staff members. You'll very quickly identify those companies that are "shut down" compared with those that are "open". There is a HUGE difference in attitude between the two. Without the right attitude business will find it impossible to adapt to the demands of the Internet. Here is the sad result for one large Christchurch company. 26 members of LinkedIn: Connections; 33, 32, 12, 5, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0

More interesting news next month
John