I finally decided to join LinkedIn. I have been in technology for all my adult life, so I am one of those who don't like to communicate and socialize using technology. However, I decided to join because I started to feel left out.
I have kept my profile private for the time being. Most of the time I have been working on making my profile look as perfect, accurate and reflective of the kind of professional I am. However, as a preventive measure I have been looking for people I want to block. I have blocked a rather large number of people.
My career path hasn't been perfect. I have burned a few bridges behind me. All things considered, though, I think I have done a great job managing my career. My parents had a fourth grade formal education, and growing up a JW, discouraged from pursuing higher education. I had to learn everything all by myself. Never had a mentor, never had anyone (nor access to reliable information) that could guide me in my career. It was all me. However, I'm not stupid, and I am a very fast learner. I did find my way in my career, learned from mistakes, grew and defined a career path that I feel proud of.
But back to blocking people in LinkedIn. I started with ill-intended people who purposely attempted to cause harm to my reputation and my career. (As a side note, it's interesting to see how just like everybody in Facebook is happy, everybody in LinkedIn is a kick-ass expert. A lot of misrepresentation and over-inflated statements there). People keep popping up as suggested connections. I think that the suggested connections feature is a little obnoxious, but it's great for blocking people.
It didn't take too many clicks for people from my former life as a JW to start popping up. Block, block, block. It felt a little creepy seeing pictures of the faces of people I haven't seen or heard of in decades. Blocking them all as a preventive measure felt as good as way back when I left them behind. It was a good exercise (or reminder) in making sure the boundaries I set are properly maintained today.
However, today i realized that not everything is negative and bad. Back in 1995 I found myself working in a program for what they used to call "at-risk youth". These kids were coming out of the Juvenile Detention Center in New Jersey, and I was one of their instructors. Back then I was also starting my career in IT, and I was studying for a Novell certification (god I'm old!). I was the computer teacher.
This one student, his name was Johnny, 16 at the time, loved my computer class. He was like a knowledge sponge. He told me that he never had the opportunity to learn about them before. I encouraged him to help me setup my computer lab, and he was always wanting me to give him some computer to fix or take apart. We developed a great relationship, and one day he introduced me to his mom. She was a single mother and raised him by herself since he was 2. Later I learned that Johnny was actually trying to set me up with his mom. I was truly some kind of father figure to him. I moved on to another job a year later or so and I never heard of him again.
I found him in LinkedIn today. He's a systems Engineer and has a Master's degree. Made me feel very proud. I never thought that I could be a good influence to anyone. That's not the message I got from my family or from the congregations I grew up in. I can't believe the little that I did for him was the beginning of what seems to be a great career. That's so great to see.