Signaling The Other Side

And no, I don’t mean the “one-eyed one-horn flying purple people eater” or the pint-sized pygmy, Snooki.

I’m talking something of substance that can be signaled (hence the name “signal”) in a sea of noise: the LinkedIn Signal. While it shares some of the same benefits as Twitter’s tweets or FB’s status, it let’s see you see the white light at the end of the tunnel.

I began using this a short while ago and fell in love with it. Now, a question that keeps me pondering is how is it easier for me to fall in love with a tool than with a guy? And I’m not talking about the "tool" who lacks the mental capacity.

It has left me to also ponder if Linkedin offers fortune telling. Will need to check on that. Anyways…

Signal uses filters to help users “signal” for specific news and subject matters and saves time rather than having to fish through a net of nonsense just to locate craved content. And as the saying goes, “time is money.” Or perhaps in my case with the combination of school and work, “time is limited.”

The filters are based on a person’s network, company relationship, industry, time published, location, and university - giving the newsfeed considerable clean up. So yes, even an aspiring Snooki midget could be as specific as “only updates from nightclubs that allow pygmys entrance.”

Hey, if the drunken guidette could get paid more than a Nobel Prize winner to show up at Rutgers University, then pygmy entrance at a nightclub can’t be too far fetched.

Which means there are many methods in which Signal can be taken advantage of.

Businesses: this business dashboard works a tad like Twitter in the sense of being a tailored news service. Signal combines comments from a businesses professional network, their industry groups and the companies they follow.

So while companies can now do slicing and dicing of tsunamic newsfeed, it also lets them put their business at the heart of conversation with customers and informally publicize service and products using a “word of mouth” approach.

Celebrities: what reality celebrity doesn’t want to lengthen their 15 minutes of fame? Now that Bethenny Frankel is without her Skinnygirl Margarita brand, I bet Signal would be a perfect way for her to reach out to her fan base (or those who have taken any interest) to see what “inspiration” they want her to pull together. It could also be a great way for her to know who her competitors are, find their fan bases, then bait and hook them.

Individuals: this without a doubt can help people get jobs. Ie: freelancers can utilize it to get the buzz in specific industries, which means, sources with contact info will be only an “arms length away”.

Job hunters can also ask Signal to dish up posts by people in the industry like television or newpapers who mention “job openings” and display how close he/she is connected to those people, where they work and who else they work with.

So I guess Signals mantra is: keep your enemies close and your networks even closer.

…jenn olivencia