"Who Ya Gonna Call?"

The question of "Who Ya Gonna Call?" inevitably leads to the rousing sing-song answer of "Ghostbusters!" from the film of the same name - but it's not always that easy to locate the expertise you need within your organization.

Large companies are fortunate to have a tremendous pool of available talent that are willing to share their skills and insights. The implementation of an "Expert Locator" tool can allow you to connect with these people based on both their credentials and contributions from a variety of perspectives including:
* Recognized Skills and Competencies
* Prior Experiences
* Associations and Networks
* Intellectual Capital (Output, and Input)

In the same vein, building on Chris Bautista's earlier LinkedIn post, I find that social networking sites can also serves as a "People's Tool" for locating experts within the extended professional network. While the search features aren't as robust as one could imagine, LinkedIn still provides a useful way to seek out expertise (particularly when combined with the Groups filter).

Last week, I participated in a Social Learning Workshop led by Elliott Masie and he pointed us to a very Cool Tool. Check out the way relationships can be viewed in the inspired graphical interface offered by introNetworks (http://www.intronetworks.com/testdrive.aspx).

For me, in addition to "at-a-glance" usefulness of introNetworks graphical display of data, the ideal tool would incorporate two perspectives:

(1) Data points derived from an individual's resume, along with self-described skills and interests, and

(2) Much like Google algorithms serve up tailored ad messages, a "smart" locator could also mine hidden expertise from a system-driven scan of company wiki contributions, blog posts, and networked connections to others in the company.

What capabilities would your ideal "Expert Locator" include?

Using LinkedIn to Network and Learn

As of May 2009, just six years after the online business networking service was launched, over 41 million members have joined LinkedIn. What I want to know is what percentage of those 41 million members are only logging in so they can accept a contact request and what percentage are actually utilizing its features to market themselves and their business.

More and more people are beginning to realize that there’s a lot more to LinkedIn then just maintaining a contact list full of customers and colleagues. By taking advantage of the tools within LinkedIn, business professionals are able to manage and strengthen their current business relationships, improve their visibility in Google search results, develop new relationships with customers who have similar business interests, and learn about their competition, industry trends, and more.

A profile that has a solid description of your company and your strengths is the best place to start, but you can also become a member of up to 50 different interest groups. By joining a group that is related to your industry, contributing to the group discussions or by even starting a group of your own, you immediately improve your visibility.

You can also use the “Answers” tab to ask and answer questions relative to your field of expertise. The same concept of improved visibility applies as with groups. By answering questions posed by people who are interested in the services or products you have to offer, you are naturally viewed as being an expert and they will be more likely to remember your name and even contact you when they need help.

This kind of social networking for businesses can be considered an informal method of learning because of the two-way sharing of information in a non-structured environment. Using tools such as LinkedIn is rapidly becoming a necessary part of doing business and increasing knowledge.You can connect with some of the Frogkick team on LinkedIn here…

• Greg Gunther


• Catherine Baker


• Chris Bautista