Mapping the Links

By Brendon Young.

As LinkedIn is an online space, this does not mean that the network is not capable of being mapped, quite the contrary.  At first a subscriber may feel threatened in this new space, by engaging and making connections they are in turn mapping their online social network. They transform this new space to a place, a place of comfort, of boundaries (Kuttainen, 2016). It is a free and open space, allowing for near total inclusivity. However, there is a boundary that can deny users in joining this space: technology.

The application Inmaps, allowed subscribers to visualise their connections through a data visualisation map. It enabled users to see relations between networks and “identify elusive hubs between your professional worlds” (Imam, 2011). These maps are powerful, as they are representations of reality (Kuttainen, 2016) and are a “purposeful selection of everything that is known” (Woods et. al, 2006, p.4). These maps enable users to know the territory of this space, turning it to a familiar place.  

LinkedIn is a world for professionals in the business sphere to connect. There are no barriers that would deny any subscriber the chance to utilise the network. As it is business orientated it does not deny usage based on gender, ethnicity or religion. The one boundary that denies people the opportunity to subscribe is technology. Without the right technology there is no chance of joining this space, forming networks and creating opportunities.

Figure 1: Global reach of LinkedIn (LinkedIn, 2016)

Visualisation maps allow subscribers to transform an unknown space to a personal place. Maps enable the display of connections and to identify elusive hubs in the virtual network, they also describe the way things are (Woods et. al, 2006, p.3).  This space is a professional network without limits on gender, ethnicity or religion. The one boundary to joining is technology and this will affect people in their ability to network but it is in no means an end. Evidently, there are always spaces and networks to join.

References

Imam, A. (2011). Visualize your linkedin network with inmaps. [Blog]. Retrieved from https://blog.linkedin.com/2011/01/24/linkedin-inmaps

Kuttainen, V. (2016). BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, Lecture 3 and 4: [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au

Linkedin. (2016). Linkedin. Retrieved from https://press.linkedin.com/about-linkedin

LinkedIn. (2016). Global reach of linkedin [Image]. Retrieved from https://press.linkedin.com/about-linkedin

LinkedIn. (2011). Visualize your linkedIn network with inmaps, linkedin [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC99Nw2JX8w

Wood, D., Kaiser, W., & Abramms, B. (2006). Seeing through maps: Many ways to see the world (New ed.). Oxford: New Internationalist.