Men are savvier online professional networkers than women. So concludes a recent study by LinkedIn (LNKD).
The study garnered lots of attention in the blogosphere, but are LinkedIn's findings really correct?
The professional networking site picked seven large companies -- such as Best Buy (BBY), Wal-Mart (WMT), and Lockheed Martin (LMT) -- and counted the number of "connections" that each company's registered LinkedIn users had.
The results: Men had more connections than women.
Nicole Williams, LinkedIn's "connection director," deciphers the results this way: Women "can sometimes shy away from networking because they associate it with schmoozing or doling out business cards." She adds, "In reality, it's about building relationships before you actually need them."
This is true, but here's the thing: LinkedIn's researchers ignore the reality that networking isn't only about the number of connections you make. It's about the quality and depth of those connections as well.
To that point, the Pew Research Center released a study on June 16 that analyzes the user bases of several social networking sites including Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, as well as LinkedIn. Pew found that 52% of Facebook's users sign on everyday, while only 6% of LinkedIn users do. Moreover, 44% of LinkedIn users log on to the site less than once a month.
Another interesting fact that emerged is that LinkedIn users (there are more than 100 million in total) are predominantly male (63%), while 53% of Facebook's 750 million or so users are female. And it is that female-leaning Facebook universe that's "more likely to have a larger number of close social ties," report the Pew researchers. The Pew study concluded that that only 7% of a typical Facebook user's "friends" are people they have never met.
Back to the LinkedIn study, where the measure of "savvy connections" is quantity, not quality--the latter being the type you likely need to advance your career. LinkedIn senior PR manager Krista Canfield acknowledges that its researchers didn't analyze the strength of employees' connections; it was strictly a numbers game.
Which makes us wonder: Are guys really savvier connectors than girls? What do you think?
by Patricia Sellers
The most head-spinning thing about Arianna Huffington's deal to sell the Huffington Post to AOL (AOL)--besides the sweet $315 million price, which is 10 times HuffPo's 2010 revenues and almost all in cash--is her expanded job description.
Once the acquisition closes, Huffington will oversee all of AOL's media content including the recently purchased TechCrunch, Engadget, AOL Daily Finance, and MapQuest and Moviefone as well.
Her new purview--overseeing platforms that reached MORE
Patricia Sellers - Feb 8, 2011 2:58 PM ET
Are the populists taking over the world?
One rabble-rouser, Arianna Huffington, has concocted a remarkable stunt, which she calls the Move Your Money Project, to rally consumers to transfer their deposits from big banks to small community banks across the U.S. Alas, there's no run yet on Citigroup (C), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), or Wells Fargo (WFC). But the Move your Money campaign--which the blog queen dreamed up MORE
Patricia Sellers - Jan 8, 2010 12:47 PM ET
I've never been big on New Year's resolutions, but a year ago, 15 minutes before 2009, I resolved to friend--a Charlie Rose fan--at a party in D.C.: "I'm going to DVR Charlie Rose every night."
Three weeks later, I found myself sitting next to the TV interviewer at a dinner in New York. I told Rose about my New Year's resolution. "So, are you doing it?" he asked.
"Uh, no, I MORE
Patricia Sellers - Jan 4, 2010 1:38 PM ET
"The great thing about blogging is that I don't need you journalists to interpret me anymore."
-- Whole Foods (WFMI) CEO John Mackey, in a Q&A with Fortune in July 2007. Back then, Mackey's blog campaign to acquire Wild Oats, a major competitor, drew the ire of the Federal Trade Commission. Now the controversy-courting boss is in hot water again over another piece of writing: a Wall Street Journal op-ed in MORE
Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - Aug 18, 2009 7:08 PM ET
Betsy Morgan is out as CEO of HuffingtonPost.com -- and her firing came as a surprise to her, Morgan told me when we connected by phone late this afternoon.
"Bummer." That was the first word she uttered in our conversation. Morgan says she's not bitter, however. After all, what a ride Arianna's web venture has been these past 20 months. Morgan joined in October 2007 -- and I remember it well MORE
Patricia Sellers - Jun 16, 2009 6:11 PM ET
When I arrived at Pace University at 9:30 this morning in lower Manhattan, the line was already snaking down the side of the building. The crowd, gathered to witness the announcement of a third version of Amazon's (AMZN) Kindle electronic reader, was feverishly tapping at gadgets galore and every so often stepping out of line to take camera phone shots of the assembled group. It seemed their excitement had gotten MORE
Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - May 6, 2009 3:57 PM ET
Did you hear that Research in Motion's (RIMM) BlackBerry Curve 8900 toppled Apple's (AAPL) iPhone as the No. 1 smart-phone in the first quarter? So says research firm NPD Group.
While I've never considered myself a barometer of technology trends, I have to tell you, the fact that I bought a Curve 8300 on Saturday says something about BlackBerry's surging popularity.
You see, I am the furthest thing from a gadget person. MORE
Patricia Sellers - May 4, 2009 2:59 PM ET
Hi--I'm on vacation, and Jessica Shambora, my Postcards colleague, is too. Much needed!
We're taking a short break from blogging. But this is Postcards, after all--so you may hear peeps from our retreats. (Not the same spots, Jess and me, but both warm and sunny, we hope.)
You will definitely hear from me on Monday. I have a fabulous (!) cover story out that day. I'll send you the link.
We wish you MORE
Patricia Sellers - Mar 12, 2009 1:42 PM ET
"Adversity builds character."
-- Charlotte Sellers, my mother, who died a year ago today, told me this constantly when I was growing up. I try not to use Postcards as a platform to get too personal, but if you'll permit today--to pay a tribute to her--I'd appreciate that. She was 87 and forceful and generous and beautiful until the end. My closest friend.
Marrying my father in 1944, she thought that she MORE
Patricia Sellers - Jan 29, 2009 5:24 PM ET
For the latest on the most influential women in business, philanthropy, government, and the arts, like us on Facebook. 
In a funny and candid interview, Google VP Marissa Mayer explains how she got to the top. Watch
Xerox CEO Ursula Burns shares how she once accepted a job with Dell but ended up staying with Xerox. Watch
Pattie Sellers has written some of Fortune's most talked-about cover stories, including "Oprah's Next Act," "Can Meg Whitman Save California?" "The $100 Billion Woman" (Melinda Gates), "MySpace Cowboys," Martha Stewart ("I cannot be destroyed"), Ted Turner ("Gone with the Wind") and Oprah Winfrey ("Oprah Inc."). Since its launch in 1998, Pattie has helped oversee Fortune's "Most Powerful Women" cover package.
A specialist at dissecting larger-than-life personalities, she has also profiled former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Morgan Stanley chairman John Mack, and countless CEOs.
Pattie co-chairs the annual Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, the preeminent gathering of women leaders in business, philanthropy, government, academia, and the arts. She started at Fortune in 1984, covering the big brand companies.
In Pattie's blog, Postcards, she provides insight into the lives of super-achievers through commentary, career advice, and Guest Posts by CEOs and other leaders.
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Fortune Most Powerful Women
Sheryl Sandberg:
Gina Bianchini
