Introducing Maven Connections

You asked. We listened. Since launching Maven in early 2009, many of our users have asked us how they could connect with other Mavens they know to share profiles and build a secure, private professional network comprised of close or trusted contacts. After much thought about how to allow Member-to-Member connection without compromising our industry-leading privacy standards, we are pleased to announce Maven Connections.

Maven is different from other professional networks. As you know, we do not allow direct searching of our network for other Mavens by name. This is to protect your privacy- we only reveal your participation in Maven and the details of your profile in specific situations and with your permission. With Maven Connections, you can now invite other Mavens to connect with you- and vice versa- but only if you know the other person’s name and email address. Here’s how it works:

1. Login to your Maven profile.
2. Click on the Network tab.
3. Enter the name and email address you know in the form provided.
4. Click “Preview and Send”

You’ll see a preview of the message that will be sent your invitee. If the person you invite is already a Maven, they will receive an invitation to connect with you and be able to decide whether they would like to share their Maven profile with you. If they aren’t already a Maven, our system will send them an invitation to join Maven, and if they do so you will receive Referral Commissions for having introduced them to us!

If you receive an invitation to connect with another Maven, the choice is yours whether or not to do so- if you prefer to remain anonymous, simply decline the invitation and the other person will never know that you are a Maven. This way you can protect your privacy and not worry about offending someone. Since they can’t see you on Maven and don’t know that you’re already on Maven, there is no implicit “peer pressure” to connect.

We hope you’ll take advantage of our novel connection system to build a small, private network of other Mavens. As always, contact us if you have any questions or concerns.