Social Media: How Do I Know You?

Today I received an invitation to connect on LinkedIn from another person that I don’t know.  Now since they check the box marked “Friend” when they initiated the contact, I figured I must know them from somewhere, right? No, I clicked their profile, read their profile and couldn’t figure out how or where our paths had crossed. I’m sure that many of you get similar requests and can’t seem to figure out what to do with them.  Keep them in your inbox for a while? Delete them on the spot?  The same thing can happen with Facebook.  At least with Facebook, if the contact is a suggestion from another friend, you can contact your real friend and ask them how we both know this person.  So what are some of the social media connection rules?  I did a bit of research on this and found an article in CIO Magazine that provided some useful tips.  My personal tip? Always personalize your invitation – even if you know the contact.  If you use the boiler plate template, customize it to reflect your connection with this person.