Let's please keep it that way and not present negative areas that are not present with anyone who is participating on this forum or this thread. I'm sorry if what I said came across negatively -- that certainly was not my intention. In fact, my intention was to be more "inclusive". Let me explain...
There is such a thing as "implicit criticism". As a simple example, let's consider this that you said:
When you network, you don't hold back even if you would love to.
When you network, you don't hold back even if you would love to. Logically, there's an implicit value judgment in this. The converse of this statement is this:
"If you are holding back, you aren't networking."
A => B, therefore ~B => ~A
I gave several reasons that people might want to keep their contacts private. I could list half a dozen more. What if they're just uncomfortable with it and can't even articulate why? A statement such as the one above makes them feel like there's something wrong with them for not opening up their contacts, and they shouldn't feel that way. If they're uncomfortable with it, for whatever reason, that's their prerogative. Consider this... if there weren't any number of valid reasons for doing so, why would Xing even make it optional?
So you see, I wasn't being negative -- I was saying that people shouldn't feel obligated to bow to peer pressure or heed the words of any particular guru (including me). Certainly read the discussions about it and give some thought to the issue, but in the end, make a decision that works for you.
And for the rest of us, who are we to judge? Until we "walk a mile in their shoes", it's really not our place to tell someone else whether they should or shouldn't open up their contacts. We can tell them what worked for us, or even for someone we know, or we can make suggestions, but I *suggest* people not even give it a second thought when you see that someone has their contact list private. It's simply a fact -- don't try to draw any conclusions from it about their attitude towards networking, etc.
Scott Allen Premium Member Group moderatorThe company name is only visible to registered members.
