Andrea Jones • 2ndMarketing Communications Professional // Writer // Strategic Planner1wI am becoming increasingly frustrated with what LinkedIn is becoming — an avenue for what I will lovingly call “junk mail.” Almost all of the connection invitations I’ve received over the past few months have been from salespeople looking to prospect. What started as a business relationship-builder has become a direct-marketing vehicle. Am I the only one frustrated by this? hashtag#linkedi

Mitch Kostoulakos,

Agree, although you never know when a connection will lead to an opportunity. I usually ignore random requests unless I have met or done business with the requester. I  pay more attention to a request if it has a note attached. When I send a connection request I always add a note indicating why I would like to add them to my professional contacts.