LinkedIn - Blog - HEDGEAnswers

To Linkin or not Linkin – That is the question…

August 17, 2011

Lately, it seems that I am getting bombarded by requests to be added to this person’s network or that person’s network by people who I have no interest in networking with. It seems that people from as far back as my elementary school days – I went to Brophy Elementary School in Framingham, Massachusetts — have found me on LinkedIn and other social networks and want to be “friends.” Many of these folks are people I wasn’t friends with 20-odd years ago, so I don’t know why they want to be my “friend” now. Nonetheless, the requests continue to come.

Here is the problem: I don’t want to LinkIn to these people and become their “friends” and I bet I am not the only one who feels this way. If I wanted to be connected to them, I probably would have made an effort to find them before they found me. After all, getting in touch with people and talking to them is sort of what I do for a living. It is not that I am not curious about what is going on in their lives, how many cats they have, what they had for dinner or that their kids are now being toilet trained – OK, I am not curious about this or anything else about them. The problem, I have found, is that in an effort to not be rude I end up accepting these people into my network and becoming their “friends.”

Is this wrong? Perhaps it is not being social-network honest – I’m not sure that it is right – but nonetheless it is what I have been doing, so if you want to get in touch, find me on LinkedIn and we can connect – but please don’t tell me about… Read More »

To Link In, or Not to Link In – This Is Part Two

October 31, 2011

TAGS: HEDGEAnswers, LinkedIn, Duan Reade

To Link In, or Not to Link In – This Is Part Two

First, I apologize for not writing over the last couple of weeks. I’ve been preoccupied with finishing the Second Edition of The Fundamentals of Hedge Fund Management. I handed in the book today, so now I have plenty of time to resume my blogging activities. Also, I apologize for the last post being one about Star Jones. Okay, now that I have completed the pleasantries, on to business: They say that if you live long enough, you’ll experience everything. Well, a week ago, it happened.

I got a very simple, not elegant, email from someone I went to college with. I knew the person, not well; I don’t think I spoke with her more than once or twice in the four years I was at Clark. Nonetheless, she emailed me about a business opportunity. Being the curious person I am, I emailed her back and told her to give me a call. What a mistake. It turns out that she’s an unhappy schoolteacher who has decided to get into reselling electricity. According to her, it is a great opportunity and if I had thirty minutes she could come by the house and explain how I too could get in on this ground-floor opportunity.

Needless to say, I passed. Do I need to say more about Linking In or not? I don’t think so.

The good news:

We are about to launch the new HEDGEAnswers portal. After many years of thought, comments and hard work, we’re just a few weeks away from going live. If you’re interested in being part of the beta of the new site, please contact me.

The next HEDGEAnswers Conference Call is scheduled for November 16 at 10 a.m. The recent news coming out of the SEC and the… Read More »