Trust and Privacy on LinkedIn

[Irina Shamaeva]

  I emailed a candidate recently and got this response: “Reach out to me on LinkedIn; email is just spam”. This sounds like very strong wording, especially coming from a software engineer who (we would think) stays away from “social media”.... read about it on ERE Blogs. Your Re-tweets and comments would be highly appreciated.

Thanks!

Irina

[Vivek Raghuvanshi]

Maybe the candidate is using only one email account?

[Gregg Squeglia]

I will admit that I don't use social media to even 1/2 of its potential; however, I do believe that it is a good tool for communication, especially when trolling for and making initial contact with potential employment candidates or interview targets. My personal email largely is spam or distro list stuff that I delete without reading. I think that we just may have to get used to using a variety of media in order to connect with people. That said, I would be on guard for some type of attitude problem from this particular candidate, who seems to want to dictate the hiring process.

The topic of this thread dealt with privacy on LinkedIn, and I think that we have to operate with the mindset that there is no expectation of privacy here. So, for communicating Privacy Act information or official business I think that traditional email should be used, where the appropriate security measures are (hopefully) in place.

And while you're at it, connect with me on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/greggsqueglia

[Eric Garland]

This is a fascinating trend, Irina. It reminds me of a conversation I recently had with the SVP of Information Technology of a major media firm in the U.S. He said that for their newest group of recruits, aged 22 - 26 years old, email was something old people used to communicate. They strongly preferred instant message and video conferencing to emails and phone calls.

When we look out into the future of technology, we sometimes forget that the biggest change will come from the new values of the next generation who will inherit such a technology. I'd say that if the next generation only trusts social media - then I guess everybody needs a better social media strategy! They will be deciding what the future looks like.

[Irina Shamaeva]

Very interesting comment, Eric! If you have a minute could you please post it at the original blog post at http://bit.ly/d9RbZs? By the way I see friends with 11-14 year old kids "text" as a major way of socializing.