Social Networking: "Invite all Contacts"

Social networking seems to be the way to land a job in this depression-era-esque climate, and sites like LinkedIn were developed for this purpose.  Many people who would not necessarily sign up for a Facebook or Twitter account are signing up for a LinkedIn account, mainly for the professional social networking opportunities, some out of social-media-junkie habit, and sometimes at the request or invitation of a friend.  Sometimes, this invitation can be accidental.  At least, I hope I'm not the only one who has invited my entire contact list - actually, it was more like everyone I've ever e-mailed even once - to join my (fresh, new) network.

The "invite all contacts" function common to most social networking sites these days is a brilliant idea in its own rite, of course.  It allows you to invite all your friends (and potential employers if you've submitted job applications via e-mail...and old bosses...and people you may not be friends with anymore...) in your e-mail contact list to your social networks in one fell swoop; a wide net casting for very little effort.  Of course, sometimes the "invite all contacts" works a bit too well.  When a list of a user's contacts comes up in the process of signing up for a LinkedIn account, "select all" evidently does not mean simply the users visible on the current screen - it really does mean all.

Not just all contacts, even.  But, at least for me, all email addresses to which I've ever sent a message.  While this can be a great way to refresh one's contacts, some people - like former bosses one may not have left on the best terms with, for example - might find it awkward to be invited to a social networking site geared towards career building by a former employee.  I could be blowing it out of proportion, of course, but there isn't a way to know.

It's not exactly a social media disaster, but there's also not an easy way to fix it.  "Withdrawing" the invitation to join my network does not delete the original, inculpating email and would be sort of like dis-inviting a friend to a birthday party when she knows everyone else is attending.  Sending another mass email with the message that "I didn't mean to" is basically like saying, "I actually only talked to you on accident."  Pretending like I was attempting to social network with everyone I've ever messaged (even if they've never replied...) on purpose is really the best option, even with the inevitable awkwardness that might ensue.  (Like my mom, who'd never heard of LinkedIn and is a ridiculously private [to the point of being scared of the Internet] individual, to whom I had to explain both what LinkedIn is and why she got an invitation...)  Good thing some of those invitations were sent out to "no reply" email addresses.  And maybe some people will assume it was a mistake and ignore me!

I don't want to knock the "auto-invite-everyone-you've-ever-talked-to" feature because it's not all bad.  First, there was the good, exercise-those-ab-muscles, laugh-till-you-cry moments when I realized what happened (I was with a friend in a public place), and I've got one of those out-of-control laughs.  Seriously, it sounds exactly like a seal.  Then, there was the social networking piece.  I've made some unexpected connections, and reconnected with people I've not heard from in quite a while.  As my friend said, between snorts and seals, if you're going to make a mistake, one that has positive social networking consequences is the way to go. Social networking by accident may be how the eponymous concept developed in the first place.

Photo Credit: LinkedIn