How Do I Become a LinkedIn LION?
Assuming that you understand what a LinkedIn Open Networker means from my “What is a LinkedIn LION?” post, and you want to use this terminology in your profile to increase your network as I mentioned in my “How Do I Grow My LinkedIn Network?” post, the next logical question you may have is “How Do I Become a LinkedIn LION?” Unfortunately, there is no official answer for this, as the history is that open networkers have always been frowned upon by the powers that be. Since that time, LIONS’ LAIR became the default place for open networkers to register, but there is no official group that oversees and manages them. With that in mind, if you would like to be recognized by others as an open networker, you can do any or all of the following:
- Register on the LIONS’ LAIR website as an open networker.
- Register on LinkedIn LION groups that I have indicated in my “How Do I Increase My Network?” post.
- Include the terminology “LION” in your profile so that you can be found by others looking to connect with other open networkers.
The final option is the tricky one as it in essence becomes an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) project for your profile. But if you go to the Advanced Search and just enter “LION” as a keyword and press enter, you can see which profiles will show up on the first page and get an idea of how to effectively portray yourself as one.
At the end of the day anyone can claim that they are and thus become a L.I.O.N. by doing any of the above. This raises the risk that someone who claims to be an open networker by putting the proper terminology in their profile may not actually be open to receiving invitations or may give you the dreaded “IDK” response to your invitations. If this makes you feel insecure in connecting with other open networkers, you’ll want to make sure to “check out” their profile for Recommendations, common connections, and other personalized information before contacting them or sending them an invitation to connect.
Neal Schaffer is recognized as a leader in helping businesses and professionals embrace and strategically leverage the potential of social media. An award-winning published author, frequent speaker at social media events, and an avid blogger, Neal is President of 
Comments
“How Do I Become a LION ?”
Well, just be … Open-Networking should first of all be a concept …
“How Do I Increase My Network?”
Generally speaking:
1) adapt Your LinkedIn profile to show You are interested to connect
2) adapt Your LinkedIn profile to be found by the LinkedIn Search Engine
3) fill Your profile: companies and schools are link to other people !
4) connect PowerNetworkers and grow up exponentially
5) subscribe to OpenNetworkers/PowerNetworkers Databases
6) subscribe to OpenNetworkers/PowerNetworkers Groups
7) show that You are have an active growing network
Like Neal already clarified in his point 3. .. and like I mentioned at my
point 2) the Search Engine Optimization is very important
We have to highlight some weaknesses or limitations, by using the
LinkedIn search engine:
a) The “lion” keyword is no solution: for instance, owners of zoos, listing
tigers and *lions* on their profiles, are not automatically OpenNetworkers
b) The “lion” keyword is not enough: some LIONs forget to show their
E-mail address on their profile, and an invitation is not possible anymore
c) The “lion” keyword is not enough, again: some PowerNetworkers wish
to link LION’s once they already have at least 2000-5000 connections
d) the LI SE does not recognize special characters like “@”, the search
for addresses hast to go for domains (hotmail, gmail, yahoo, etc)
e) the LI SE has a limited amount of results … to 500 profiles: in the
worst case You fill find 500 profiles You already had linked …
@TheBigGameHuntr How2 become a LinkedIn Open Networker (LION) http://ow.ly/19nmj #jobsearchtips
[...] I mentioned in my post “How Do I Become a LinkedIn LION?“, there is no single way to depict yourself as a LION in your profile. The objective is [...]
[...] puts this abbreviation on their profile headline. This, in essence, is the definition of how you become a LinkedIn LION. Nothing more, nothing [...]