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DOJ to Spend $544k to Increase Presence on Linked-In

The Department of Justice signed a contract December 24 to pay $544,000 for an "enhanced profile" and increase its branding on the social networking site "Linked In." The recipient of the contract is Carahsoft Technology Corporation, and you can view the contract details here.

Here is DOJ's justification for avoiding the open-bidding process and what it gets for its money. Among the benefits: Full access to every Linked-In profile.

DOJ will be using Linked In to recruit new prosecutors.

This will include an enhanced company profile within a large-scale, professional networking platform, and targeted online job advertising to attract highly-qualified Criminal Division employees and intern applicants as well as use the already existing Criminal Division presence,” the document said.

I find this particularly inappropriate when sequester cuts are still in effect for federal defenders and indigent defense counsel. Federal defenders were laid off and furloughed, while Indigent defense counsel had their payment vouchers delayed for four weeks and their already reduced rates cut $15.00 an hour until September, 2014.

Here is Chief Justice John Roberts' 2013 end of year State of the Judiciary report. The judiciary cuts from sequester amounted to $350 million.

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    Call me cynical but... (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by Mr Natural on Sat Jan 04, 2014 at 08:08:46 PM EST
    ... it sounds more like they want to scoop up 250,000,000 names and resumes.  If those resumes are as fantasy filled as some I've had to read, John Poindexter's legacy, Total Information Awareness, is about to receive a heaping helping of Total B/S.

    My thoughts exactly (none / 0) (#8)
    by ruffian on Sun Jan 05, 2014 at 12:32:36 PM EST
    Also they will be more likely to have their own staff poached by headhunters than to find anyone valuable to hire.

    Parent
    Will I get repeated, unsolicited emails (none / 0) (#9)
    by oculus on Sun Jan 05, 2014 at 12:55:51 PM EST
    Requesting I puff DOJ on linked-in?

    Parent
    Ha - probably. You can endorse their skills. (none / 0) (#11)
    by ruffian on Sun Jan 05, 2014 at 03:14:04 PM EST
    Linked in (5.00 / 2) (#3)
    by lentinel on Sun Jan 05, 2014 at 05:38:35 AM EST
    is another one of those social - networking sites that I have avoided these last years. Something creepy about the insistence in their repeating mails about someone "inviting" you to join...

    Huffpo (now run by AOL) now requires that you join Facebook in order to comment.

    Maybe for some, Facebook is a necessity. But so far, it has been one that I have avoided as well.

    Both of them have been revealed as sources for data collection by third parties including a government run amok.

    No thanks.

    I'm not a member of Linkedin, but, (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by NYShooter on Mon Jan 06, 2014 at 01:36:32 AM EST
    I know many people who are. It's just a very large business networking site, and , just about every executive, from the highest to the lowest, belong to it. The people I know who are members swear by it and have been very happy with the connections they've made there.

    As an example: when my son moved to Tennessee a couple of years ago he didn't know a soul there. He's in the asphalt maintenance business, so he punched that up in his Linkeden account, and, almost immediately, half a dozen pros and executives in the industry contacted him with offers to help. My son told him his situation, and, before long they had referred him to several dozen decision makers in the industry. I don't know how much business he got out of it other than it was a lot.

    Used correctly, it can be a very positive addition to your network, whether you're looking for a career move, want to hire someone, or just need advice. People just have a natural propensity to want to help others in their field, and the idea is, of course, "I help you today, maybe, someday, you'll be in a position to help me."

    I understand the data gathering aspect, but, that's pretty much S.O.P. anywhere you go on the "Net." HuffPo and Facebook scoop up, and sell info on everyone, and give you back nothing but the normal social network yakety yak.

    Let's say you're into restoring and selling 70's Chrysler "Muscle Cars." Where else can you contact a Chrysler Vice President of product development, and ask him advice about your intentions. Normally, anybody trying to contact a Vice President of one of The Big Three automakers gets a brush off, or a form letter. But, the idea with Linkeden is that it's a fraternity, and it's considered poor protocol to brush off a beginner just because you're a big shot. In fact, it's exactly that feature that has made Linkeden one of the fastest growing companies on Wall Street, and, it's stock price has skyrocketed accordingly.

     

    Parent

    I see (none / 0) (#17)
    by lentinel on Mon Jan 06, 2014 at 04:52:38 AM EST
    what you are saying.

    If it is a useful tool for you, or anyone, great.
    Same for Facebook.

    But, the aspect of these outfits that allows uninvited third parties, especially Mr. Snoopy, to copies of all of the personal information they have gathered is very distasteful - and from my point of view, unnecessary.

    It is a trade-off.

    If an individual considers that the benefit outweighs the discloser of personal information to third parties, that is a choice that I can understand anyone making.

    In any case, I am glad that it worked for your son.

    Parent