I mentioned LinkedIn in my last entry, which was about social networking sites. Of the sites I mentioned, LinkedIn is the only one dedicated to professional networking; the others have a much more casual approach to networking.

This isn't a full guide on how to use LinkedIn; somebody else has already done that and titled it The Unofficial LinkedIn User's Guide for Executives and Professionals... besides, that's way too long for a blog entry. If you're serious about networking through LinkedIn, I highly recommend reading that. If you're not sure about LinkedIn yet, read on....

When you set up your LinkedIn account, it's a good idea to list at least 2 e-mail addresses; if you change e-mail addresses on short notice, you don't want to lose your ability to receive updates (or password reminders). The first thing you do is create your profile; the second is to expand your network.

Your profile is essentially a mini-resume, with the option to hide or show each job or education entry. It can include additional information including external links, honors and awards, and groups with LinkedIn. You can, once you've expanded your network to include appropriate people, request recommendations, and provide recommendations. These link back to your work or school experience, and you can control which are visible.

In theory, your LinkedIn network only includes people you know well; if your link invitations are declined by too many people saying they don't know you, you right to send invitations can be revoked. It takes time to find out which of your contacts are on LinkedIn and connect with them; I've been building my network for about a year now. With the right e-mail programs, you can trim that time down significantly by importing your contacts, but some of my contacts are people that I had lost touch with, then found again through other contacts or searches.

There are some people in my LinkedIn network that I've known for 20 years, and some that I've known less than 1... but they're all people I'm willing to be associated with professionally. Mine is a relatively small network of 82 people (referred to as my 1st degree connections), but you're allowed to contact people through your connections, which expands my network to over 9,900 2nd degree connections (people my 1st degree connections know) and over 1,570,000 3rd degree connections (people that are 2nd degree connections for one of my 1st degree connections... gets confusing, doesn't it?).

That's over 1.5 million people I can potentially ask questions of or answer questions for. I can even narrow down my questions to specific connections or geographic areas within my network.

That's over 1.5 million I may contact while looking for a job; their job search functionality even allows you to sort by the contact degrees, and shows you which 1st degree connection to contact to reach a 2nd or 3rd degree connections.

I really don't know of a better way for the average person to reach so many other people... do you?

-- Frances

Social networking Web sites are online communities that link people based on activities and interests, and allow people to communicate with each other in some way. There are a ton of them... so I'm only going to discuss a couple that I've seen used for work purposes, each in different ways.

As mentioned in our blog entry about blogs, there are several blogging Web sites available. In addition to professional blogs hosted through company Web sites, I've seen many authors' personal blogs that include both personal and professional (namely, when is the next book is coming out?) information. It's a great way to connect with their readers and remind them that there's something in the works.

Then there's Facebook... I have trouble taking it seriously, given all the cute applications you can add to your profile, but several presidential candidates are represented there, and theater districts from several major cities have set up informational groups as well. I mainly use it for touching base with some high school and college friends, but I can see how it could be useful in a business model that depends on extensive networking.

As can MySpace; I've heard of many budding musicians who release music here in order to attract attention to their talent. There's a lot of customization allowed, so it's a good practice spot for budding Web designers as well, but some of the content is "NSFW", or "Not Safe For Work." Again, it's good for a networking business model, such as politics or music, but should be used with care, or from home, by the rest of us.

LinkedIn is a social networking Web site for business professionals; it's where I connect with my current and former co-workers for professional purposes. You can write or receive professional recommendations, apply for a job directly or be referred through one of your connections, and there's a question and answers section that has a mix of serious and amusing questions. A couple months ago, one of the presidential candidates (or their campaign) posted a question there; like Facebook and MySpace, the candidates are actively campaigning there.

That's just a peek at some of the social networking sites. Which do you prefer?

-- Frances

It should come as no surprise that kids’ fast food meals aren’t particularly healthy... neither are most of the adult ones! Across the country, various state and local governments are promoting their attempts to protect us from food. They are working to defend us from trans fat, foie gras and unbelievable amounts of calories in restaurant food.

At the end of July, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law, similar to one in New York City, that will ban trans fat from all restaurant products by 2010 and all retail baked goods by 2011. In New York City, a councilman wants to impose a one-year ban on new fast food restaurants; Los Angeles has already passed a similar ban. And New York requires chain restaurants with more than 15 outlets nationwide to include calorie counts on their menus.

Apparently, New York City and the state of California are the trend setters in healthy eating laws, but many corporations are voluntarily making changes to provide healthier food. KFC stopped cooking with trans fat in 2007; they’re one of several major fast food restaurants that have done so. The healthy eating trends have even affected Girl Scout Cookies – they announced in 2007 that their cookies now have "0 trans fat per serving", which actually means less than 0.5 grams per serving.

How do these laws affect your eating habits? Will the lack of trans fat increase your KFC visits or the number of Girl Scout Cookies you buy? Will you buy a Whopper meal knowing that the calorie count ranges from 1,260 to 1,720, depending on what extras you order?

Tough choices... well, except for the Thin Mints. Those are an easy decision.

-- Frances