Mike Sachleben, very good point. I have not seen very much value in the groups on Linkedin. I am hoping that will change, but that is in the hand of the creators of each group. On Facebook, I only joined a few groups, and almost all have been engaging, sharing and create consistant content, which keeps me coming back.

By the way, I bit the bullet and contacted Linkedin. Very nice email and I am no longer blocked. I will now try using their concept.

Thank you for the feedback.

Recently I think I’ve come to the conclusion that LinkedIn believes its platform is predicated on trust… and on the value of the LinkedIn platform to empower action based on trust.

I think LinkedIn frowns on open networking on its platform because open networking is predicated on networking without trust. As an open networker my LinkedIn connections MAY have 0 value to others in the network because I don’t know the people in the network – let alone trust them.

I agree that LinkedIn groups, as designed and limited by LinkedIn, are silly constructs. I actually wanted to punch my computer the first time I saw how valueless they were. After I formed a group I saw some limited value – to me. I actively try to bring people in the groups I own together – but for the most part they don’t want to be drawn together. They want to passively show their affinity for the group by flashing the logo… and maybe read a blog from the group leader now and then.

As long as LinkedIn believes that its currency is trusted connections open networkers like you and me will ALWAYS run the risk of being spanked by LinkedIn. Because they believe we have counterfeit currency.