2D OR 3D NETWORKING -OR- IS IT WORTH HAVING 7000 LINKEDIN CONNECTIONS COMPARED TO ONLY 100?

On a total of 5.5 millions LinkedIn users, here are 2 guys active on LinkedIn trying to sort out if it is worth having 7000 LinkedIn connections compared to only 100?

This question is intended to be discussed as a pure quantity/mathematical question. I don't want to go here in a quantity vs quality discussion.

guy100 has:

• 110 1^st level connections (of these 110 connections 2 or 3 are connections to mega-connectors).
• 50000 2^nd level connections
• 1.3 millions 3^rd level connections

guy7000 has:

• 7300 1^st level connections
• 650000 2^nd level connections
• 2.6 millions 3^rd level connections

From these raw numbers we can see that 70 times more 1^st level connections

only bring 13 times more 2^nd level connections which in turn

only bring 2 times more 3^rd level connections.

So is the time and effort required to multiply by 70 the number of 1^st level connections increase significantly visibility and ability to see through the network?

I explained elsewhere (See BASIC LINKEDIN USERS RADIOSCOPY ) that probably half of the 5.5 millions LinkedIn users have only 1 connection and can be deemed as “inactive” LinkedIn users. Of my 2.6 millions 3^rd level connections, probably 1 million to 1.5 millions are not active LinkedIn users.

With its 100 1^st level connections guy100 has access roughly to the same number of active LinkedIn users as guy7000 who has 7000 1^st level connections.

We can safely answer that the time and effort required to multiply by 70 the number of 1^st level connections DOES NOT increase significantly visibility and ability to see through the network.

If by visibility we mean having access to profiles, the above answer is correct.

But if by visibility we mean ability not only to read the profile but to have more than one path to access this person then the answer might not be so clear.

Let’s suppose guy100 and guy7000 want to have access to a person, who for both, is a 3^rd level connection. guy7000 will probably find 70 times more ways of accessing this person at 1^st level and 13 times more ways at 2^nd level.

In addition by seeing more paths, guy7000 will have more knowledge of “who his 1st and 2^nd level connections know” by seeing “connections shared” list of connections.

To conclude with a metaphor the difference between having 110 and 7000 1^st level connections is like the difference between looking at 2D and 3D images. You can see depth when looking at 3D images compared to flat 2D images.

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