Is Linkedin Relevant?

In the cold hard light of day in the month of June, 2012, how relevant does Linkedin continue to be?

Back in the day, it seemed the most important career move one could make on-line. The idea of putting my resume on the web and networking with acquaintances/coworkers was exciting. I could share my accomplishments, thoughts, book recommendations etc. But does it hold up today?

I try to keep up on the site and have a fair amount of connections. But what is the value? Is the value that folks can view my profile and see that there I'm connected? Well, that is important, but how important?

Last week Facebook released data that showed active users were dropping off. So if FB is starting to become stale, what about the "premier" business social network?

What I have seen is very few connections that actually "work" the site. More often what I see is dead air until someone is in need (career-wise) and then furious activity: updated pics, book recommendations, friend requests.

I caught myself lecturing a couple of colleagues yesterday that they needed to get cracking on Linkedin,  but is this good advice any longer? I'm thinking this one through. Any thoughts would be appreciated in the comments section.

Cheers,

Brian
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