An article in TechCrunch talks about a new tool that will help you analyze your existing connections to help you reach the people you want to know. It's called "Conspire," and it analyzes your email (Gmail, specifically) to help you connect to people you want to meet -- and, in particular, it helps you analyze the strength of the connection to the people you already know to make that introduction.
Read the TechCrunch article here:
Forget LinkedIn, Conspire Analyzes Email To Be Your Next Networking Tool
Right now, the app has the strongest successes within the tech community. When I tested it out, it helped me identify people I already knew, but wasn't as successful helping me reach people one connection out. Part of the challenge is that it only uses Gmail right now, and I don't use my Gmail email as much as I do my BeAResumeWriter.com and Resume Writers' Digest emails for work contacts.
For example, I tried Conspire to see how it would do with two of the career industry's top thought leaders. First, I tried Wendy Enelow:
Because I have corresponded with Wendy through my Gmail account (occasionally -- I usually correspond with her through my Resume Writer's Digest email), it found we had a direct connection, although it was weak.
Next, I tried Louise Kursmark … which, considering my connection with Wendy, I should have some sort of connection with her on Conspire:
Nope. Not only did it not connect me with Louise through Wendy, but it didn't show any connection with her at all. (I actually correspond with Louise through my Resume Writers' Digest email account).
So, it's not perfect yet, but it's definitely worth a try. It's another tool in the toolbox for jobseekers … but LinkedIn is still #1. Perhaps as the Conspire network grows, it will become more effective and powerful.
Check out Conspire here. It's free.
