I don’t often rant, but I’m about to. I’ve blogged previously about the importance of personalized invitations on Linked In … and yet … I still get invites that are canned. At least I can look at the profile to determine who the person is. I’d like to suggest, strongly, that personalizing Facebook friend requests is also highly recommended.
This morning I received a friend request on Facebook with no personal message and no way to determine who this person was because all of his settings were at the highest level of privacy. I didn’t know who he was nor could I glean any information from his info page. He was a nameless person who, for all intents and purposes, could have been unsavory. How would I know?
I sent him a very nice message stating that I was careful about who I friended and asking how he found me and why he decided to reach out to me. His response …
Delete the friend request. Too complicated.
Seriously? This from a professional? Too complicated to personalize an invitation to someone with whom you would like to connect? Where I come from, that is actually professional and courteous. If you're going to invite people to join you, give them a reason to say yes.
Happens all the time. On Twitter too. Someone wanted to follow me. Had no posts. Was following 250 people, and not person was following this person. No profile either.
Doesn’t make sense.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Robert. You’re absolutely right … I’ve blogged about the lack of SM etiquette on Twitter as well. I don’t know what’s worse … not participating in social media and being invisible … or doing it so poorly that your reputation is tainted.
Cindy, this made me laugh because it seems so prevalent on LinkedIn. If a person wants to connect and does not personalize the invite my assumption is that they only want access to my contact list and not necessarily me. I have also seen former employees of mine do the same thing. Something as simple as “Hi, I worked for Joe Smith in Clinical when we were…” might get you in. Unpersonalized invites – no action and archive.
I’m so glad I could make you laugh, Mike. I’ve experienced the same thing you describe on Linked In but I have to say, this one just blew me away. Have a great weekend. Stay warm … shivering in Florida!
Rant? Not really, Cindy.
I consider it good solid advice . . . and a timely reminder that common courtesy is . . . just common courtesy!
Thanks for your post.
Mike
Thanks for your words of support, Mike. You’re right … it’s all about common courtesy.
Thanks for this post. Your “Too complicated” response was hysterical. It amazes me that this still happens with all the information available about how to do SM right
It doesn’t surprise me when I get a “unknown” friend request on Facebook but LinkedIn is supposed to be a “professional” network. Come on people! Be professional!
We are all newbies to this world of social media networking. If you’re not sure, take the time to read all the many great “how to” posts before you get started. Being busy is no excuse. If the “lack of common courtesy” doesn’t move you….how about the fact that you are wasting your time since you will not get responses to your “unknown” invites?
So true, Fran. I’m not sure if it is the lack of a face-to-face handshake that makes people forget common courtesy, but whatever the reason, it is definitely a brand killer! Thanks for reading and for commenting!