LOOKING AT LINKEDIN THROUGH A
SOCIOLINGUISTIC LENS
Alex Botti and Alison DeBoer//October 2013
Introduction
• Who we are
• What we’ve been doing
• What our goals are
• Help from you!
What we’ll cover
1. Introduction to LinkedIn
2. Contributions from a sociolinguistic perspective (what
might others overlook?)
• Profile as narrative: a framework
• Identity (“getting personal”)
• Referring terms
3. Next steps
LinkedIn 101
LinkedIn was launched in 2003 (before FB!)
225 million members in
200 countries
Mission statement:
“Our mission is simple: connect the world's professionals
to make them more productive and successful. When you
join LinkedIn, you get access to people, jobs, news,
updates, and insights that help you be great at what you
do.”
A view of my LinkedIn homepage
Invitations to connect
Menu bar
Info/suggestion
from LinkedIn
Profile views
Suggested
connections
Status
update
News feed
Info about recent
activity on the site
and info about my
connections
A view of my LinkedIn profile
Components of a profile
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Summary
Experience
Skills and Expertise
Education
Projects
Languages
Publications
Groups
Interests
Courses
Test scores
Patents
Certifications
Volunteering and Causes
Recommendations
Sociolinguistic Lens
The Data
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71 profiles
Viewed as “public” for quantitative analysis
Coded for
 Age,
Gender, Industry
 # of connections, recs, sections & words used
 Location (by country)
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Qualitative analysis looking at identity and selfpresentation work
Framework:
Profiles as narratives
Analyzing profiles as we would narratives:
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Audience
Story progression
Identity and self-presentation/performance
Lexical choices
Role of interaction
More…
LinkedIn Narratives
LinkedIn Narratives
Framework:
Profiles as narratives
Zooming in on:
• Identity and self-presentation (the personal)
• Lexical choices/referring terms
Socio lens:
Identity and self-presentation
SO WHAT? Why does this data matter?
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A virtual you is out there…others can get to it before they get
to you! Who is printing out your LinkedIn profile?
Where does the personal come in?
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LinkedIn’s version of “personal” information, vs. the user’s:
linguistic choices people make infuse personality and identity
into the profile
A model of “3 Rs”: framework for looking at how the choices
people make convey – or have the power to convey – an
identity, something beyond a simple online resume
The “3 Rs”: Reading LinkedIn through a
personal lens
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Reading:
 Headline:
specific or broad? What do people call
themselves?
 Buzzwords:
 Clues
across a profile
on how to approach and interact
The “3 Rs”: Representing yourself –
personally – on LinkedIn
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Representing:
 LinkedIn
as part of a constellation of connections:
an online footprint
 What
 The
makes you tick/passions: what others will read
“why” of your background
LinkedIn Narratives
The “3 Rs”: Reaching out and staying
personal while doing it
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Reaching out:
 Personal
 Staying
invites: shared history
top of mind: generous interaction
Now what?
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A framework for soliciting feedback on and
exploring your own “LinkedIn self”!
Research:
Talking about yourself via pronoun choices
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I evaluate domestic and international credentials…
Evaluate domestic and international credentials…
Evaluates domestic and international credentials…
She evaluates domestic and international credentials…
Alison evaluates domestic and international credentials…
We evaluate domestic and international credentials…
Domestic and international credential evaluation…
Research:
Talking about yourself via pronoun choices
Questions for you…
-What do you think each of these connotes?
-What pronouns/referring expressions do you use in
your profile?
-Do you have a preference for one?
-Does the language related to pronouns/referring
expressions differ in your resume versus your LinkedIn
profile? How so?
-Do you use pronouns differently in different sections
of profile (i.e. summary versus experience)?
Research:
Talking about yourself via pronoun choices
From our pilot study…
In Summary section:
36% use no pronouns
(credential evaluation)
27% use first person
(I evaluate credentials)
18% total use implied
first or third person
(evaluate(s) credentials
In Experience section:
45% use no pronouns
(credential evaluation)
7% use first person
(I evaluate credentials)
30% total use implied
first or third person
(evaluate(s) credentials)
What’s next?
Next RQs (using this model)
Research Questions
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How do goals (i.e. searching for a new job, noting
emerging industry trends) shape the choices people
make in presenting themselves linguistically, and how do
these shift over time?
How does the “request to connect” and other such online
requests shape offline encounters where identity is
performed in relation to other's public faces?
How is LinkedIn talked about in other spaces/platforms?
Contributions from you 
Thank you!