Basic Concepts

The effectiveness of networking on Viadeo depends on the number of yourcontacts.

When you joined Viadeo by invitation, the person who invited you automatically becomes your contact. This means that if you would like to get in contact with another member of the network, you may be able to request a introduction via this person.

When you are connected to a person, you can 'reach' all the people in their network, i.e. their contacts, the contacts of their contacts and so on, up to 4 levels.

You Tim Smith  Brian Thompson  Jayne MacDonald  Claire Jones  

As the efficiency of the introduction system depends on the number of your contacts, it is essential to maximise your network of contacts.

If you have 10 contacts, who in turn have 10 contacts, and this pattern continues for 4 levels, you can reach 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 = 10,000 people through your contacts.

You can see your list of contacts by clicking the 'Contacts' tab.

To increase your number of contacts, you need to invitepeople you know, whether or not they are already members of Viadeo, to become your contacts. To invite a person, you need only know their email address (this is necessary to prevent abuse from people seeking to spam people they do not know).

When you invite someone, they will receive an email invitation to join your network (if that person is already a member of Viadeo, they will be notified on their Dashboard).

Viadeo helps you connect to people that you do not yet know, either by sending a request or introduction to connect via people you already know.

In both cases, your contacts play a key role.They are the link between you and the people you would like to contact. They forward your requests and invitations to their contacts.

It is important that you know your contacts, as you can send messages to each other and avoid unwanted requests.

For example, if Mr. Smith wants to get in touch with Mr. Stevens and both share a connection with Mr. Little, they will connect through Mr. Little. Mr. Smith will write an introduction message for Mr. Stevens and request his connection, Mr. Little, to forward this to Mr. Stevens.

Mr. Little can agree or refuse to forward Mr. Smith's request to the recipient. In turn, Mr. Stevens can accept or decline the introduction request. If Mr. Stevens accepts, his email address and contact information will be sent - if he so wishes - to Mr. Smith who will then be able to contact him directly.

This process is similar to our business and social life. The principle of 'knowing someone we both know' makes it possible to forward invitations without the risk of abuse or spam.

Other members can ask you to forward introduction requests.

If you are looking for a supplier or client, need to recruit a colleague or need an expert opinion, you can post your ad and forward it to your contacts. You could find the answer from your contacts ('Do you happen to know a good lawyer in Italy specialising in ...').

When you broadcast your requests to your contacts, they can forward these to their network, if appropriate. By doing so, your request will reach a wider audience and will have more chance of being answered.

As Viadeo relies on contacts between contacts, leveraging the trust between members and confidence in the network to provide an effective and reliable business tool. In fact, Viadeo is based on the same principles business people use to get in touch via networks in 'real life'. Viadeo, however, greatly improves and extends the reach of offline networks.

Start networking with Viadeo.