The emergence of social networks sites delights me, but i’m struggling to understand the value of LinkedIn as anything novel or specifically advantageous. My concern is that the site will immediately appeal to all of us obsessed with social networks (specifically those who love them for business purposes), but that it’s value outside of a specific subset is limited. I would *love* to be proved wrong (because i really want to see social networks become more prevalent on the web and i think that Ryze / Friendster / LinkedIn are fabulous learning opportunities). Here are my concerns…

1) LinkedIn gives public kudos to the heavy Connectors by listing them in order in the Network. This is important because social validation helps encourage the role of the Connector. The problem is that one of the best validating measures is when the Connector introduces two people who are compatible in the appropriate context. Connector validation is hidden in LinkedIn. When you want to get to know someone, you have to write them a message and then you get to see your first link towards that person. But you don’t see the path.

2) Links weaken over distance. The greater the degrees of separation, the harder it is to vouch for someone. If the connections are A-B-C-D and A wants to meet D, B & C have to decide if that’s appropriate, but that’s a much harder call than when there is only one person in between. LinkedIn makes it hard to figure out the distance.

3) You value people’s connections for different reasons, even in business land. You probably don’t trust your *amazing* HR person to recommend a programmer, while you’d love their recommendation on a sales person or something closer to their expertise. Without a viewable network, this becomes challenging to operate.

4) How does the system become trustworthy enough to be valued by all involved? When would you not do introductions when asked? What are the social consequences of such actions? If someone indicated that you are their “friend”, would you say no? Again, social consequences…

5) The profile interface is soooo limiting. When i’m hiring consultants, i use a lot more than their job experiences. I look at their skills, their educational training, their personal interests (including volunteer habits). Character is so crucial in connecting people, but the system limits one’s ability to voice that. Also, a picture is worth a thousand words.

6) Finding people is frustrating as anything. Searching simply based on location OR what they’re looking for/offering OR their industry? Actually, i have a problem with searching in general, because it makes the system appear to be a simple professional DB that limits your searching based on an assumption that you only want to meet people a few degrees apart. It’s true; i’m far more likely to hire folks a few degrees a part. But, i’m not likely to do a limited search and then see if the connections might be of interest to me. I’d be far more likely to use the system if i could limit the network and then walk through my network to see which people fit my needs. Or better yet, a big visual overview of the network, graying out all of the people who didn’t fit my needs, letting me see my first degree connectors and letting me click on people down paths i’m curious about.

OK… Tell me i’m wrong and missing the picture.