If you want to be notified the next time I write something, sign up for email alerts or subscribe to the RSS feed. Thanks for reading.

There are a lot of social networking websites on the internet that aim to bring people together. Many of these services offer messaging capabilities and the ability to add a user as a contact or a “friend” so profile updates and other alerts can be sent to other users that are linked to that particular contact. A lot of online social activity develops as more members start to join the service and connect with one another. Searching for people is as easy as typing in keywords based on name, location, interests, and other fields. Depending on the social network, the service may incorporate additional features such as blogging, profile widgets, games, entertainment, mobile access, and other social related features.

LinkedIn has a similar set of features to these social networking sites, but has a few interesting features of its own that separate it from the pack. Knowing these differences can be useful for convincing your colleagues. Even existing members can find this information helpful as many do not know the full set of features that LinkedIn has to offer. Here is why LinkedIn is a unique and different service that deserves attention.

A Network of Professionals

Social networking sites are usually geared towards younger audiences, but LinkedIn encourages employed people with professions to join the circle. Most of the profile fields that are to be filled up are mostly business related which is just enough to keep the non-professionals at bay. Currently, there are over 35 million members from all over the world that are seeking to link with other professionals. In addition, all the top executives representing companies found in the Fortune 500 list are registered in LinkedIn.

A Place to Seek Professional Help

While the common social networks offer a bulletin board that lets anyone in the network share ideas, LinkedIn takes it a step forward by allowing users to ask questions in a Yahoo! Answers style fashion. Since LinkedIn is a professional network, only business related questions are encouraged. These restrictions make LinkedIn a lot more stable in its field than other networks that offer a free for all in terms of topics and theme.

A Job Fair for the Masses

Linked in is not only a place to get to know other people for professional socialization purposes, but it also serves as a great way to find your next job. Thanks to the special profile fields, it is quite easy to find others with the same work background as you so you can partner up with them with ease. Because LinkedIn supports company profiles, you can also find out where people go from one company to the next. With the millions of people registered in the LinkedIn, the possibilities of finding a job are endless.

If you neglected your LinkedIn account because your other contacts are active in other social networks, perhaps it is time to introduce them to LinkedIn and tell them the professional potential of the network. It will help forge deeper connections in both a personal and business perspective.