What is the difference between following and connecting?

[Jill F.]

I've been here for a while and I don't know this. I guess it's an etiquette question. Under what circumstances should I send a connection invite and when should I send a follow? I've always just done the connect thing but then recently I saw someone followed me but no action was required on my part. Have I been doing it wrong?

[Mindy Jensen]

@Jill F. When you are colleagues with someone, their interactions on the site will appear in your dashboard feed, you can send them private messages, and you can tag them in posts on the forums.

You cannot tag people you are following, nor send them private messages without first sending a colleague request.