from AskMyDaddy

Success rate declines over time

You asked

I don't know what the statistics are, but I get the impression that LinkedIn activity is down. I have been a user for 2 1/2 years and find responses are fewer and that invitation are getting slower and a lower level of acceptance. I have talked to others who have experienced the same thing.

Is it something we are doing wrong?

MyLinkDaddy writes

Quality has steadily declined over the past four years from what I've seen.

Your experience is natural and expected. It's due to both aging of the network and your own membership. Indeed this is one of the reasons LinkedIn no longer allows Introductions to be sent 4 levels away.

1. INACTIVE MEMBERS. As LinkedIn ages, there are more inactive members and network performance degrades at an increasing rate. See InactiveMembers.

2. YOUR TENURE. When you first join LinkedIn the people that you send Introductions and Invitations to are "close." You will have a personal relationship with many of your connections. Your direct network is small and strong. You enjoy a relatively high level of success in LinkedIn messages being forwarded and accepted.

Over time a multitude of factors ALL degrade this success

• Your own connections age and become inactive.
• New contacts will be weaker than when you first joined.
• Your connections expand, weakening the overall quality of your connections.
• The LinkedIn network expands, increasing the size of your own network, weakening the overall quality of those contacts