Okay so we built this forum on LinkedIn a while ago to try to provide a non-commercial environment where reliability practitioners could network and discuss themes that mattered to them. (Forum - http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/45240)
The results have been astounding. I think this is down to three issues fundamentally:
- No anonymous snipers!! Everyone in there has to display their name - but emails are hidden from spammers! So if you are going to state something you need to have the courage of your convictions. (Great stuff!)
- No commercial agenda! I do not want you to attend my "really great" conferences, buy my books, purchase my services or anything. I want you to network with each other! So as a result you say what you want, you talk about the themes that are important to you, and there will be no risks of "the owner" attacking you for disagreeing with their line. (No ads, no spam - nothing)
- Freelance and positions wanted posts. Already the forum is filling with recruiters and companies who are looking for people with rare skills. The value of the forum is that you can immediately check their profiles to see their recommendations, their career history and to be able to contact them directly if you are interested. (Because this is LinkedIn hosted)
Some tips
If you want to join the group you can do so here, and the discussion forum is available here. When you join the forum, or if you are already a member, then you can set up your updates to receive daily or weekly digests of what is going on. (This is great to be able to see at a glance whether there are interesting job or contract offers, or to see what is being said about themes that interest you.) First click on your settings within the forum itself:Then choose your updates setting for this forum:
This way you can stay on top of what is going on in your community, who is looking for what, and also get an idea of what some of our extremely experienced members are talking about.