In the context of Facebook not being LinkedIn, you're correct. But for professional relationships, it is not okay to NOT check in on your contacts and see how t

In the context of Facebook not being LinkedIn, you're correct. But for professional relationships, it is not okay to NOT check in on your contacts and see how their doing. Otherwise what's the point as listing them as someone you know if you're not going to bother following up on them, their company or their career? Do you even care? I think in the past, this was probably true. My Dad, who had the Rolodex, told me that once a year he would go through and try and call everyone in the Rolodex. He did this in order to: a) Make sure he had the right contact information (and contact within a reasonable amount of time so that if they left the company, he could get the new information) b) Make sure the other party still had his contact details/didn't forget him LinkedIn largely removes the need for both: if a contact changes his/her information, you already have access to those new details. Other parties can't really "forget" you, because the connection stays there. As mentioned elsewhere, building the network helps the mechanical filters work. Rather than trying to remember the specifics about a person "I wonder if that Jeff bloke knows this Dave guy, because I remember Jeff had dealings with Dave's company", you simply type in "Who knows Dave" and it'll tell you. The specifics you previously needed aren't needed anymore. I've found it's OK to get introductions through people you met once at a conference for 20 minutes. They can't vouch for you, but they'll say "He was a good enough guy for me to add him to LinkedIn, so you should probably chat." But you're right, if you want them to come to you, you'll have to work that network more aggressively and in a more timely manner. I lean on mine when I need to, which is working OK so far.