Get Linked-In

As the popularity of online communities continues to spread, it's becoming big business - and not just for the 20-somethings selling their creations to the likes of Google for 10 figure sums. (Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion in a stock for stock transaction.)

Now, as MySpace and Facebook continue to grow, a new community has emerged over the last two years as the leading online forum for business people: LinkedIn. With the basic account settings coming free, your LinkedIn profile is basically an online resume. What's more, is it shows your "connections" - that is, not just who you know, but who they know. Call it two degrees of separation.

What makes these connections that much more important to collect is that it's been proven that more job opportunities come from "soft" contacts (people you've only met once or twice) than "hard" ones - either friends or past colleagues. A recommendation from a past employer, also visible on your profile, will help you that much more.

Check out LinkedIn... because if you're not in touch, you're out of touch.