I was poking around on LinkedIn and figured out that they now allow you to scan your webmail accounts to check and see if any of your webmail contacts are already on LinkedIn.

 

What? I can scan my Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail and AOL email for contacts?

 

 

I used it and found 72 first degree contacts - people I know well and email regularly! I had no idea I was not connected to them because we communicate via our personal email accounts and had just not "found" each other on LinkedIn... yet?

 

Of course, since they are webmail messages, my LinkedIn Outlook ToolBar had not picked them up either. I invited them and they all accepted, bringing with them 27,000 new second and third degree contacts into my network (and yours as well if you are connected to me).

 

You can access this feature here: https://www.linkedin.com/secure/uploadContacts?displayWebMail=

 

You have to select each of the accounts one at a time, but its worthwhile. It will ask you for your login and password, then log you in and scan your email on Gmail, Yahoo, AOL and/or Hotmail. It will then upload all thoe contacts to your "Other Contacts" folder and ask you which ones you want to invite. Those with a little icon to their left already use LinkedIn.

 

Go ahead, try it! You will be surpirsed how many personal friends and other contacts are already using LinkedIn and you didn't even know.