The LinkedIn Invitation to Connect. Has it Disappeared?

LinkedIn has changed once again and while some of the changes have made it easier to navigate, there is one that still bugs the heck out of me.  It's the "Connect" button.  Now, if you want to connect with someone, you simply see their picture or name on the right side of your home page, click the "Connect" button and an invitation is immediately forwarded to them. Boom - it's done without giving you a chance to personalize the note.  The recipient will get an email message that says, "Name. It's good to see you on LinkedIn" and it's up to them to connect with you.

 I don't know about you but I don't like this new feature and every morning when I open my email there are several of them that I'll most likely delete because I don't know these people from a hole in the wall.  If their invitations let me know that we share a group or if they were in one of my classes it would be a different story.  Now I immediately think that they are trying to sell me something; especially those names that are in lower case letters. (Really? You can't edit your name properly?  But that's another blog.)

Here's how you can personalize the invitation to connect on LinkedIn in three easy steps:
1. Click on a name using the People You May Know" feature on the right-hand side of your Home page.
2. Once their profile opens, click "Connect"
3. The original "Invite Name to Connect" window opens.  Fill in the boxes, add a personalized sentence and send. Done.

I know it's easier to bang out a bunch of invitations to connect using the new LinkedIn feature but that doesn't make it better. Call me old fashioned but I'd rather read a sentence saying how we know one another or why you'd would like to connect than see, "Nancy, it's good to see you on LinkedIn."