As you may already know LinkedIn has a “signature” way to visualize your network statistics. I have never paid any attention to those until recently. According to LinkedIn, I can reach out to well over one million professionals:

Realistically only 52 professionals I can contact directly. I can see potential of reaching out to 10,500 people through your immediate connections. But not over one million. Still even reaching out to 5,000 for a particular cause can be extremely valuable. Are the network statistics there to show the potential of your immediate connections? In the past I have never used LinkedIn actively besides just having an account there. With most of my contacts on LinkeIn I am connected in other ways.

How are you using your LinkedIn connections? This is not a rhetorical question. I am contemplating upgrading my free account and your feedback will be greatly appreciated.