Let’s get connected
Peter Drechsler | TLT President's Report March 2011
Not familiar with LinkedIn? STLE has a great way for you to dive in—and gain immediate benefits.
STLE’s LinkedIn group consists of more than 740 members representing academia, industry, manufacturing, distribution, research and consulting.
I am not well versed in the use of the social network LinkedIn, but recently my eyes were opened by a member of the STLE staff, Bruce Murgueitio, our digital marketing manager. Bruce was kind enough to give the Executive Committee an overview of LinkedIn and how STLE benefits from its use.
I’m sure many of our younger members are quite familiar with LinkedIn and are already using it. For those not familiar with it, LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site. There are more than 90 million registered users spanning more than 200 countries around the world with about half of these users outside of the United States. Quite a feat considering that LinkedIn was launched in May 2003.
The purpose of LinkedIn, like most social media sites, is to provide a vehicle for networking. It can be used to find information, jobs, people and business opportunities.
Another important aspect of LinkedIn is the searchable groups feature. This feature allows users to establish new business relationships by joining alumni, industry or professional groups. LinkedIn groups can be specialized to deal with a narrow domain or industry, or they can be broad and generic in nature.
LinkedIn groups provide a place to engage in professional discussion with others from your industry. It allows you to discuss relevant topical information, experiences and work together to solve problems. You also can post industry news and job opportunities and promote products and services.
STLE has established a LinkedIn group consisting of professionals working in the field of tribology research and lubrication engineering. It is represented by members of academia, industry, manufacturing, distribution, research and consulting. STLE’s group consists of more than 740 members, the majority of them from the U. S.
The primary purpose of STLE’s LinkedIn group is to create two-way communications and provide help for industry professionals. STLE uses the group to promote new products and services and provide industry news and information on upcoming events.
Our goal is to increase the technical content, number of volunteers adding content and number of followers. Bottom line is that these efforts add to STLE’s brand awareness with the possibility of increasing membership.
There are two facets to STLE’s LinkedIn group: organizational use and personal usage. Here are a few key bullet points on each:
ORGANIZATIONAL USE
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Two-way communication
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Business-to-business collaboration/partnerships
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Builds a network of people working in the fields of tribology research and lubrication engineering
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Knowledge transfer
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Marketing and promotions
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Expands STLE’s reach to tribologists and lubrication engineers worldwide
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Increases STLE’s brand awareness.
PERSONAL USE
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Network with industry professionals
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Maintain current relationships
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Create new relationships
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Build your personal network of industry experts
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Gain valuable technical information
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Knowledge transfer
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Job search.
If you are not already a member of LinkedIn, I encourage you to join and then become a member of STLE’s LinkedIn group. If you are already a member of LinkedIn, please consider joining the STLE group. Upon joining you will receive a welcome message with information about the society’s newest offerings. We’ll also present you with other valuable and useful information.
To get started, log on to
www.linkedin.com and create your individual profile. Then go to the search bar, select Groups and type in “tribology.” STLE is among the first groups to pop up.
For more information regarding STLE’s LinkedIn Group, please contact Bruce Murgueitio at
bmurgueitio@stle.org.
So let’s get connected!
Peter Drechsler is a senior tribology specialist with The Timken Co. In Canton, Ohio. You can reach him at peter.drechsler@timken.com.