business networking sites linkedin

Should you use your real name or company name when sign up to social networking sites?

I would be signing up for marketing my business so it would make sense to use business name. However, on some sites I see names of users who have VERY popular websites BUT they choose to use there real name instead of companies name. I have seen this on sites such as facebook and linkedin. What are you thoughts. Name, company name or should I have to profiles one with name and another with company name. (I think on facebook & linkedin you can not make multiple profiles…).

thanks

LinkedIn is all about you – your professional contacts, your history, your interests. You happen to have worked at some number of companies both in the past and currently.

Unless you’d like to break the user agreement from the very get-go, you put your name on your profile.

Plus – it’d be awfully hard to connect to people you know and trust if you don’t use your real name. “Hi Fred, this is really Tom Smith, you know, the guy you used to work with over at Acme. I’d like to connect with you. Oh – This profile says it is Richard Jones – that’s just a name I’m using…”

Smooth, very smooth…-)

steve

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California-based Butow is with a Web design and marketing firm, and has written 12 books on related topics; Taylor is with an executive talent firm focusing on high tech emerging growth companies in the U.S., and has some ten years of experience in her…