Printable pageStudy the table below and draw your own conclusions. The Median number of connections is FOUR
| 2300 | 765 | 181 | 135 | 129 | 127 | 124 | 111 | 105 | 102 | 92 | 86 | 72 | 72 | 70 | 64 | 56 | 55 | 49 | 47 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | 44 | 43 | 40 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 34 | 34 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 |
| 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 |
| 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
You can see that about 85% of the members are invisible to almost everyone because the are poorly linked. Of 360 members, only 34 have more than 30 connections. That's the minimal; number to have a viable network in my opinion. This is a problem of consumer awareness. Lack of engagement. Not understanding how the network works.
One of the best features of LinkedIn is the ability to ask questions of your network, but if you only connect to ten people, only ten people will ever see your question. Your chances of getting the best response is small.
Generally speaking networks of more than 30 people start to be useful. People with 30 or more connections are the top 10% of all members.
For New Zealand as a whole, there are about 15,000 members, about 20 of them have more than 500 connections. The top connector has more than 8,000. Some 5,500 are invisible because the have inadequate connections to other members. About 30% of the members are CEO's or business owners or senior board members. A small number of companies encourage many staff members to get involved. Government departments and local body councils are noticeable by their lack of representation.
There is a help file for people joining LinkedIn here.
To John Stephen Veitch
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CopyrightJohn
Stephen Veitch, July 2007
