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If you read how the developers of LinkedIn intended it to work, you'll understand that they expected users to "KNOW" each other and only to pass on the connection to people they know to, "trusted connections". BUT, all the leading users of LinkedIn use it in a different way. They are quite happy to accept invitations from people they don't know, provided that:
1) that new person has completed a reasonably full profile, and
2) there is open access to the names of the people you are connected too.
This helps people to grow their networks faster, and for a bit of serendipity to come into play.
Very occasionally someone appears who has a false profile, or who after making a connection becomes a nuisance. LinkedIn is built on TRUST, so betrayal of trust is a severe transgression. Word spreads like wildfire if people do silly things. LinkedIn also weeds out people who break their rules very quickly. I've only had problems with a LinkedIn contact three times, and it was always quickly resolved.
LinkedIn is a network that business people like. It doesn't require a lot of personal time, because there is no requirement to join groups. However in the beginning you have to look for people to join your network. Once people have 35 or more connections, they seem to reach a tipping point where the usefulness of those connections becomes apparent. Sadly the mean number of connections for the 600 people in my sample is 4. To have 20 connections is to join the top 25%. Once people get 30 or 35 connections they seem to take off, and it becomes easier and easier to make new connections as people start to flow into your network. A very easy way to extend your network is to connect to me, here's a reason why (video).
A vastly under used feature of LinkedIn are LinkedIn Groups. You can join up to FIFTY groups, and most linkedIn Users are in none at all. LinkedIn Groups help to make LinkedIn more efficient. People who share interests are likely to join similar groups. Hence, there is more opportunity to find the people you need to discover, the people who you need to talk to. LinkedIn has a rule that allows you to send a message to anyone who shares a group with you. That's an open pass making LinkedIn a very valuable network even to people who pay no fees.
To make use of LinkedIn Groups, open "Groups" and "My Groups". from the top of page menu. There is a search box, searching "Groups". Enter a search term, anything you are interested in. Try that with 6 to 10 different search words, and JOIN, some of the groups that seem interesting to you. I expect that by now you have applied to join about 30 groups. Some of those groups approve new members. Others admit everyone who applies. Some of these groups will begin to send you mail. You can turn off that mail, but I never do. You don't need to read it, it's never personal. The value of the mail is to keep you informed about what others are saying in the online forums.
For some of the LinkedIn Groups, you will want to read the discussions at least once a week, and sometimes to write something yourself. It's in these discussions that you "meet" other people you might like to connect to.
Millions of people are "STUCK" on LinkedIn because they are afraid to grow their networks. If you choose only to connect to people you ALREADY KNOW, it's IMPOSSIBLE to build your real network. So you have to be more open than that. This is the advantage of joining email lists and discussion networks like Ryze or Xing, or using tools like Twitter and Friendfeed. You can watch in the background, completely anonymous, and when you feel ready you can invite people you now "know" into your network.
As your experience grows so will your confidence. When I read a profile, I believe I can immediately tell a beginner from an expert. I almost never refuse an invitation from a beginner. My role as I see it is to encourage people, to be an example, to provide a model for others to emulate.
I never refuse invitations from experienced people either.
It's up to you to choose who you want in your network. You may have a special reason to be present, but mostly invisible. If you are the CEO of a large company, or very senior public servant, you may want to keep your own network very compact. On the other hand you might encourage your PA, to have a very large network.
It's absolutely normal practice on LinkedIn to invite people you've never met from some far-off land to join your network. LinkedIn worry about this; they worry that people will be annoyed by excessive requests. They include an option in each invitation to click an "I Don't Know" tab. Black marks are awarded to people who accumulate too many "I don't know" debits. They may be banned for issuing any invites for a time.
On the other hand, it's now considered bad practice to "I Don't Know" anyone. The alternative is just to archive the message.
I've recently discovered another problem with flagging someone "I Don't Know". A young lady, still at university, who works part time for a friend of mine, who I've personally met 3-4 times, who has personally responded to my email several times, has only 8 LinkedIn connections. I invited her to join my network. I'm not sure what she was thinking, but she gave me an "I Don't Know". As a result I can't send her a message of any kind on LinkedIn. My access to her is blocked.
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