It is as Bad as an Ugly Remodel?

I don't know if you watch Nicole Curtis on Rehab Addict (it is one of my guilty pleasures) but the premise behind the reality show is that Nicole rescues houses that are in bad repair but still have potential to be wonderful homes.  She restores them using materials that would have been used in the homes during the time they were built.  Many times she discovers beautiful woodwork that has been covered in a later, very ugly, remodel attempt.  She can always be heard saying, "What the heck?!?  Why would anyone do this?!?"

That is the very way I have been feeling about some people on Linkedin recently.  The premise behind this application is for people who know each other to stay in touch.  If there is someone listed that you want to meet, an introduction is encouraged by another known person in your Linkedin network.

So with that all being said, when someone in my personal network asks for help in connecting with someone I don't know, the first place I research is Linkedin to see if that target person is listed and then if so, who in my Linkedin network is connected to him or her.  I then ask for help in making the connection.  Good strategy, right?  Wrong!  Five times, yep, count em', five times within the last couple months, when I have requested help being connected, my acquaintances have said something like, "I am only connected to that person on Linkedin, I don't really know them."

So channeling Nicole Curtis, "What the h......?"

Do you think people have forgotten what Linkedin is about?  Or am I all wet?