Quick Link: Professional Networking via Web 2.0

LinkedIn

From the LinkedIn about page:

Our mission is to help you be more effective in your daily work and open doors to opportunities using the professional relationships you already have.

This isn’t networking—it’s what networking should be.
Forget exchanging business cards with acquaintances that don’t know your work, or trying to renew professional ties when you need a favor.

Two noteworthy reads about LinkedIn from 2007 by Mashable:

• LinkedIn Sees 323% Increase in Traffic

• LinkedIn IPO Coming

Web 2.0: Discover Four New Sites

Four Web 2.0 sites you should know about, all of which are relatively new to the scene:

1. popurls - This site is a feed aggregation of the most popular Web 2.0 and social media websites. The feeds, colors, fonts, and much more are customizable. It takes feeds from sites such Digg, Flickr, YouTube, Google News, boingboing, and countless more. I love it. Get all your social media updates in one place, with an easy to use, customizable interface.


2. Netvibes - With Netvibes, you can create a personalized startpage. It's nearly identical to iGoogle. With Netvibes, you can have access to your e-mail, blog, social network, news feed, photos, video, and more, all in one place when you open your browser.


3. Metafilter - I'm not exactly sure how to articulate this one, so I'll let them explain:

   Metafilter is a weblog that anyone can contribute a link or a comment to. A typical weblog is one person posting their thoughts on the unique things they find on the web. This website exists to break down the barriers between people, to extend a weblog beyond just one person, and to foster discussion among its members.

4. Seesmic - This is a new social media site based around the concept of community through video. I would say this is different from most online video sites, especially in the sense that it focuses more on community and personal expression. Many of the other sites have become very commercialized. I'll let Seesmic explain their concept, as taken from this page:
   

   What is Seesmic?
   Until now, online communication has lacked personality as it’s been limited to text (IM, SMS, email). Now, Seesmic brings conversation alive through video. See and hear people share their experiences straight from their webcams, join in live conversations, and engage in real interactions with real people.

   It’s so easy: record a video directly on Seesmic’s website, or upload an existing video straight from your computer, or link to a video posted on a social network, whatever works for you, works for us. Join the Seesmic community and experience a new way to express yourself, to make friends, and to be seen and be heard. Conversations can also be simultaneously broadcast via Twitter and soon via other platforms.
   Be seen. Be heard. Be on Seesmic.