Abstract
LinkedIn is a social networking site dedicated to making business connections for the purposes of building a professional network and sharing employment opportunities. Social networking sites (SNS) have allowed more content to be user-generated, making it increasingly difficult for users to assess credibility of information regarding source, message, and medium. Like other social media sites, LinkedIn provides information about a user that viewers can use to make judgments about the source, such as their credibility and attractiveness. With the use of Sundar’s MAIN model, the present study investigated the importance of social presence in the form of a profile picture when individuals are judging credibility of a LinkedIn user’s profile. Findings demonstrated significant differences between social presence (picture/no picture) conditions and social attraction and competence. Results indicated that users who post a profile picture along with their LinkedIn profile are perceived as more socially attractive and more competent than users who do not post a picture.
Highlights
Social media and social networking sites (SNS) continue to grow and expand, providing a level of connectivity upon which people rely almost ritualistically
Hypotheses were created based on the social presence and identity heuristic from Sundar’s (2008) MAIN model, which indicate that differences should exist such that those with a profile picture are identified as both more credible and more attractive
The identity heuristic states that a user asserts his or her persona via technology, here through the utilization of a picture; the social presence heuristic refers to more anthropomorphic characteristics of the medium, as opposed to the machine heuristic, which lead to a higher level of perceived competency (Sundar, 2008)
Summary
Social media and social networking sites (SNS) continue to grow and expand, providing a level of connectivity upon which people rely almost ritualistically. From email to the Internet, instant messaging to texting, Facebook and Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, social media is changing the dynamics of communication based on its capabilities to reach diverse networks of people. As the medium has changed, social media has caused us to adapt the manner in which we communicate and the types of information we choose to include in our messages. Among the various forms of SNS, LinkedIn, launched in 2003, differentiates itself from others (e.g., Facebook and Twitter) with its mission to build professional networks. LinkedIn facilitates business connections for the purposes of establishing large, professional networks and sharing employment opportunities (LinkedIn.com, 2013; Thew, 2008). The professional networking site has boomed in membership (Skeels and Gruidin, 2009), with more than 345 million users globally as of February 2015
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