LinkedIn has launched InMaps, an experimental project that creates a stunning visualization of the connections within your business network.
InMaps sifts through all of your connections, detects the relationships between them, and groups them into different network clusters. For example, LinkedIn separated my networks into eight clusers, including my technology/social media contacts, my Mashable network and my network of classmates at Northwestern University. It color-codes and clumps these networks together so you can see the depth of your connections in one interface.
InMaps is an insight into who the major connections, bridges and influencers are in your network. People with bigger dots and their names in larger fonts have more connections (and typically more sway) in specific clusters. Perhaps that's why my friend Neal Sales-Griffin, the former president of Northwestern's student body, is so prominent in my professional graph.
InMaps also includes a few options for sharing. It creates a landing page with your LinkedIn InMap (you can check mine out as an example) and provides Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn share buttons so you can spread your map to the rest of your network.
What do you think of InMaps? Does anything surprise you about your own business network? Let us know in the comments.