When someone says Identity Theft, most often the first thing people think of is credit cards and bank statements.  There are television commercials about it, credit card companies bragging about their theft deterrence systems and zero liability programs, and notices are regularly provided to consumers providing tips on how to prevent it from happening. There’s even one company that will guarantee your identity will not be stolen. (Please read their fine print)
 
While financial identity theft can be devastating, it’s only part of the story.  The fastest area of identity theft is Medical Identity Theft (MIT). Just what is MIT?  It occurs when criminals obtain information such as a health insurance identification or Social Security number and use it to get health care, medical test, Medicaid benefits or to obtain reimbursement from insurers and others for false claims. That means your medical history and health care records can include someone else's information.

LinkedIn, if you think about it, is simply an offline idea implemented in an online manner.  It takes advantage of the ease of communicating and interacting that the internet provides. 

LinkedIn hasn’t changed or replaced the old way of networking.  It’s just added a new dynamic to the mix.  It’s made it easier to network with more people in less time.  It’s expanded the typical network geographic restrictions.  And it’s opened up new opportunities to showcase your business or yourself.

In the end there is only one you or one business.  There’s just a new opportunity to build your brand.  In my chamber I’ve attended over 90% of the alliance meeting over the past three years.  Each meeting I have 60 seconds to get my message across.  In addition I try to meet face to face with as many people as possible.