Follow your LinkedIn Network through Twitter

The other day LinkedIn and Twitter announced a partnership. Not only does this partnership allow your LinkedIn network updates to post in your Twitter account, but you can conversely post (all or some) Twitter updates to your LinkedIn account.

Although I think this is a great idea, LinkedIn is so much more than another social network to provide status updates. I want to know when people in my network make new contacts, join new groups, and even change jobs. This is something that is missing from the new LinkedIn-Twitter partnership- even if all my contacts were to connect their accounts.

This information is available from your LinkedIn RSS feed. Although you might not have heard about it, LinkedIn generates an RSS feed unique for your network.

With FeedTwit you can take the RSS feed from your LinkedIn network and receive your network updates as direct messages in Twitter. Why you want to do this:

  • The LinkedIn RSS feed not only tells you when someone updates their LinkedIn status, but when they connect with someone or update their profile (like changing jobs or joining a new group).
  • Whether or not you follow someone on Twitter, you will be notified of their LinkedIn status. This might help you keep your Twitter account more personal while keeping in touch with your LinkedIn account.
  • Since you receive this information by direct message this preserves the privacy of your network and spares your Twitter followers from information they are not interested in. In this way FeedTwit is better than TwitterFeed.

Where can you find your LinkedIn RSS feed?

  1. While logged into LinkedIn, go to “Home” by clicking on that word in the upper-left of your page
  2. In the middle of this page, below your inbox, you will see a headline that reads “Network Updates” with an RSS feed icon next to it. Click on that icon.
  3. On the next page you will see the different RSS feeds that LinkedIn offers. On the left is the feed for your Network Updates. Press the “Enable” radio button and LinkedIn will generate a URL for you.

Get your updates in your Twitter account as direct messages

  1. Follow @FeedTwit from your Twitter account. Within an hour you will receive a password.
  2. Take that password to http://feedtwit.com and login.
  3. Place the LinkedIn network RSS feed URL and submit it to FeedTwit.
  4. The next time someone updates their LinkedIn profile, you will receive a direct message from Twitter, telling you what they are doing.
  5. BONUS: if you have paired your Twitter account with your cell phone, you will receive this direct message as a text message
  6. DOUBLE BONUS: if you want, you can use FeedTwit to get all your Twitter @ replies as text messages

Connect with David Zimmerman on LinkedIn and Twitter

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