Kiva and LinkedIn

[Guest]

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[Ramón]

Hi all,

As a high-tech professional, I've been a fan of LinkedIn for a while now. And I've seen that several Kiva enthusiasts and investors have Linked-In profiles as well. (You'll need to sign-in to Linked-In to make the link work).

In addition, the founder of LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman, is on Kiva's board. Now how's that for a resounding endorsement?

So, why not catch two fish at once: expand your LinkedIn network and hook up with more Kiva enthusiasts?

In order to connect to me, please send me an invitation to the email address listed in my profile.

I've also talked to Kate, Kiva's marketing person. She is investigating how to best (and officially) create a Kiva Group at LinkedIn. Once this is set up, all us Kiva enthusiasts can join this group. More information when available.

Hope to see you there!

--Ramón

[RichardF]

Thanks Ramón, LinkedIn is news to me. I just skimmed a news article linked from the site (the site itself seems a bit cryptic).  Could you say a little more about what it is and how it might be of interest to a non-techie?

[Ramón]

(going a little bit off-Kiva-topic here as this post contains somewhat of a plug for LinkedIn. Sorry.)

LinkedIn is not only for "techies". It's a networking website, that allows you to stay in touch with anyone that you are interested in for professional reasons. It has also been described as the MySpace for professional people.

The way it works, is that you can post your resumé / professional history in as many or as little detail as you want. Then, you start building your contacts.

If you ever need anything, you can search your network for relevant people, and use your direct contacts to reach them if they're more than 1 degree removed from you.

I personally use it to keep tabs on people I have worked with in the past or that I know and are interesting to stay in touch with. Fellow Kiva lenders (as also Kiva personnel) are a good example of that.

Most of the website's functionality is free.

--Ramón

[Ramón]

Finally, it's there. Through the good work of Dave, Sundeep, and Kate at Kiva, there is now a...

KIVA GROUP AT LinkedIn !!!!

So for all of you KivAddicts that are at LinkedIn: please visit the following link to join our group:
http://www.linkedin.com/static?key=groups_giving_kiva

Hope to see you there!

--Ramón

[qwiksilver]

I'm in.

Oh yeah...I'm new too.

My LinkedIn:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/cricketthoffman

[Ramón]

Welcome! The Kiva group at LinkedIn has been growing...
Please feel free to add me as a contact... I'm at http://www.linkedin.com/in/ramon .

--Ramón

[socialpreneur]

I'm already on Kiva group on LinkedIn before joing this site. 

http://www.linkedin.com/in/takuya

I moderate a group called LinkedIn Japan on yahoogroups, for LinkedIn users from Japan and wishing to do business in Japan. This is open to any LinkedIn members. YES, you need to have a LinkedIn account!

[saabnet]

Oh yeah...I'm new too.

My LinkedIn:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/cricketthoffman

Me too (joined the Kiva group too):

http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottpaterson

-Scott

[saabnet]

For those KF users who are also LinkedIn users, I've created a KivaFriends.org group so you can proudly show your affiliation, if you'd like. Note: I'm more than happy to turn this group over to the moderators or Joe if it is inappropriate that I'm currently managing it. I'm an active LinkedIn user and have a Saab group there as well, so managing is a daily task for me as it is.

You can find the group by going to the Groups directory here:

http://www.linkedin.com/groupsDirectory

In the Search Groups bar, type in Kiva and hit Search. Up will pop a number of Kiva groups and at the bottom of the list is the KivaFriends group. Click on the KivaFriends logo to request membership. Approvals will happen daily.

If you'd like to see what this whole thing looks like - it's just the KF icon on your LinkedIn profile, that's it - then you can view my public profile and see both my KF and Kiva group logos among others here:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottpaterson

-Scott

p.s. There are a number of Kiva.org groups too, but I joined the one at the top of the list. I think that's the most official one.

p.p.s. Just to clarify, all that a LinkedIn group does is to put a little affiliation logo on your LinkedIn profile. There is no other functionality associated with it. It all links back to here.

[Jan & John]

Signing up for that was fun however I probably won't use it

There was no category for Retired - so I had to use Working Independently...

and when they wanted the field - I chose Leisure, Travel and Tourism.

oh well, ya never know
jan