Troy Wolverton from the Mercury News outlines his experience trying out “The Three” social networks out there: MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn (Disclosure: I work at LinkedIn; in case you’re wondering that’s probably why I’m interested in this space!).

Here’s a quick summary of Troy’s experience:

In January, I received an e-mail through Facebook from a college friend with whom I’d long regretted losing touch.

Last month, as the Mercury News was about to announce layoffs, a contact on LinkedIn alerted me to some job openings at his research firm.

And last week on MySpace, for at least the 16th time in the past three months, I was asked to be friends with a flirtatious young woman – in this case “Stephanie” – who was a front for a porn site.

Funny, eh… Anyways, the reason I’m bringing this up, is that as community evangelist I reach out to folks who’re trying to get more value out of LinkedIn. Now, Troy goes on to describe his experience of LinkedIn more in detail and I can assure you that he’s still skimming the surface and can use it for a slew of professional purposes (particularly as a journalist) that he’s currently missing.

Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn positions itself as a tool for professionals. After joining the site last fall, I now have more than 200 mostly professional contacts, with a few personal friends mixed in. While I visit and use the site more often than MySpace, I’m still not convinced of its necessity.

Alright, here’s an open invitation to Troy. Give me a chance to walk-you through some of the LinkedIn usage/features you’re missing right now. I mean it, try decaf, seriously 🙂

Read more about Troy’s experience on the three social networking sites here