Hi, my name is Braven. I don't have 500+ connections on LinkedIn.

I don’t have a twitter account, I’ve never had a profile on Facebook (apparently neither does my friend Joergen), and I didn’t purchase Social Media for Dummies. The most appalling thing about my lack of connectedness in the online social media sphere is that I’m in the creative agency business! This is unheard of for a Creative. It seems, I’ve violated some unwritten code and committed the ultimate marketing faux pas by not jumping on the bandwagon bound for rapid fan growth (RFG).

According to a recent post by trend maven Michael Tchong, “some 734 million visited at least one social networking site during the month of May…” This is a staggering statistic considering the number of PCs in the world has toppled just over 800 million according to Businessweek. That means that at least 91% of the computer-using world visited a social networking site within the span of 1 month in 2009. And that was over 3 months ago, imagine the stats from August! It’s no wonder marketers are getting excited about social engagement media.

So why not 500+ connections?

Reason #1 – You’re Not a Superstar, So Stop Trying

I could be wrong but Seth Godin replies to every one of his emails. So does Craig Newmark. They are superstars. If you’ve never heard of them, it proves my point that you’re not a superstar. If you have, then you know it’s because of their commitment to truly connect with their audience and they see the value in being real, even if it means they spend countless hours taking the time to reply.

Reason #2 – It’s Impossible to Connect

Anthropologist Robin Dunbar has done extensive research on this subject. His conclusion: 150 is the max number of people the brain can effectively engage with in a meaningful way.

Reason #3 – It’s Irrelevant to What LinkedIn is Designed to Do

From a business perspective, why would you connect with more people than you really cared to take the time to reply to or grab a cup of coffee with? Is there an objective behind the other 350+ connections?  C’mon, unless you’re a recruiter, do you honestly use your list of 500+ connections? Do you share relevant content? Do you engage in a mutually beneficial way?

Come to think of it, one of my connections is a recruiter with 500+ on his list.  I sent messaged him requesting candidates for an Account Executive job opening at my agency.  A perfect request for a big time recruiter, right…?

Wrong! It’s been 4 weeks and he hasn’t responded. Hmmm…something smells fishy here. Does anyone know how to delete a connection?