Granted, it could just be my lack of LinkedIn savviness, but it's never been a source of actual business for me (I'm the author of this blog post). The only people who actually seem to use LinkedIn are recruiters who sloppily blast off emails on keyword matches.

But I continue to use it because it allows me to keep track of what my contacts are doing, which gives me an excuse to reconnect with them: "Hey Bob, how are you liking that new job?" It also is another source of credibility when people Google my name if they're contemplating hiring me.

I've gotten one or two leads through Linkedin, though from contacts who knew me fairly well (well enough to vouch for my skills), and who had my email address as well. So the fact they used LinkedIn to make the connection was just for convenience.

That said, what I like about Linkedin is it widens your "social surface area" - my referrals have come from unexpected places (a university professor, a classmate, a guy I met at a hackathon, etc), and Linkedin is a good service for maintaining those type of contacts.

I'm not so good at maintaing contact with old connections (any tips? I read Never Eat Alone but as an introvert, I find it hard to get motivated to put it into practice). I think one thing the platform we're building should do, though, is encourage and support freelance devs to build their professional networks.