I WAS privy to an interesting piece of research, recently: 57 per cent of Internet users are on some social or business networking site.

Quite an amazing statistic. But I wonder how many of these users effectively use their profiles on these online communities, to help achieve their personal or business goals.

Today, we review a real profile on Linkedin, considered to be the Internet's leading professional networking site. LinkedIn has over 23 millions users and has gained a reputation for helping professionals advance their careers.

Meet Mubin Punjwani, 23, an entrepreneur-turned-MBA student from Mumbai. Before he got admission to the Mumbai Education Trust's B-School (located in Bandra, Mumbai), he used to offer financial planning advice to investors, for a living. He joined LinkedIn to further these goals:

• Meet equity analysts and network with other entrepreneurs.
• Seek clients looking for investment advice.
• As a student he looks for potential employers, since he is in the placement cell of his B-School.
  

View Mubin's LinkedIn profile (after clicking, zoom in for full view).

In the picture: A snapshot of the profile area on Mubin's LinkedIn page.

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There are four things a browser must be able to find, quickly, when browsing your profile: who you are, what you do, your expertise and how your expertise makes a difference.

So, is Mubin's profile doing justice to his personality, expertise and aspirations. Here's the verdict:

• The good: He has almost 100 connections, two recommendations and links to his web site and blog.
• The bad: It's not not easy to figure out who Mubin really is, as a person. Secondly, there is no information about his expertise.
  

When you prepare your profile in Linkedin, it has an indicator that shows how complete it is. According to LinkedIn, users with complete profiles are "40 times more likely to get opportunities" through the site! I have three suggestions to help Mubin make his profile more effective.