When we lived in France, I noticed that none of the people I met was signed up in LinkedIn. I wondered why, since my impression of the French is that they are rather social. Is it because LinkedIn is an English (I mean the language) tool? Most people I met hardly speak English. If there were a French version, would they sign up? Or is it because they don't find the people they know to link to. Then it is more like a chicken-egg problem.
Another observation is that Dutch people have problems with recommendations in LinkedIn. We don't easily recommend someone for his or her work. And being recommended gives feelings of unease. I think it has to do with the 'moderate' culture: it is not widely accepted being special or
different. "Please, behave normal", is what children are being taught. Stick out your head and it will be chopped off. So, saying in public someone did a great job is difficult. Slowly, however, you can
see in LinkedIn people (read: Dutch people) start recommending others. Still, you can feel the unease, because they recommend each other. Like: when I recommend you, you recommend me. Just like monkeys: scratching each other's back.
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