If you are suddenly getting anti-social spam from
ZeroDegrees, here's why. They are a little behind in growth (320k vs.
LinkedIn's 20 million, for example), so there are strong incentives to turn the virality knob.
Christopher Allen points out a new feature which lets you upload your address book. No big deal, except it
invites all your contacts without warning and makes them contacts. Suddenly your
Inner Circle can see your entire address book, even if they are not members. Without warning, you may find yourself apologizing to your contacts, like Chris and
Stowe.
Be careful clicking the Next button.
UPDATE:
Jas clarifies my wording, which I appreciate
1. Stowe Boyd on April 15, 2004 9:59 AM writes...
I had this happen to me. See http://www.corante.com/getreal/archives/003050.html.
- Stowe
Permalink to Comment2. ZeroDegrees on April 16, 2004 4:43 AM writes...
"LinkedIn's 20 million" what? Where is that number from???
Permalink to Comment3. 20 Million Degrees on April 16, 2004 4:44 AM writes...
"LinkedIn's 20 million" what?
Permalink to CommentWhere is that number from???
4. Reid Hoffman on April 16, 2004 7:30 PM writes...
It's the number of entries in Linkedin Addressbooks. Actually, the number is higher now. (It's the comparable number to the number of entries in the ZeroDegrees outlook contacts, which is their number. Although it is true that Linkedin doesn't make your addressbook automatically searchable within the system., so that part is not quite a comparison.)
Permalink to Comment5. Jas Dhillon on May 25, 2004 7:03 PM writes...
1. "ZeroDegrees invites all your contacts without warning is an inaccurate statement". The dialog box clearly states that by clicking on next you will invite your contacts to connect with you. (This is not in fine print but in large print right above the next button).
2. "Suddenly your Inner Circle can see all your contacts, even if they are not members." This is also incorrect. First of all, only folks who you have invited to connect with you are the only ones who even know that you are a member of ZeroDegrees. Secondly, they have to join ZeroDegrees to actually connect with you. AND FINALLY, YOU HAVE TO EXPLICITLY INVITE ANOTHER ZERODEGREES MEMBER TO JOIN YOUR INNER CIRCLE. THE INVITEE (IN TURN) NEEDS TO ACCEPT THE INVITATION - THIS IS THE ONLY WAY INNER CIRCLE CONNECTIONS ARE FORMED AND MAINTAINED.
Also, you can eliminate people from your inner circle or your network by just highlighting their name in your contact manager and clicking on the "Remove from Inner Circle" button or "Remove as Friend" button.
I would be happy to provide a one-on-one tutorial to anyone interested in learning how ZeroDegrees works.
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