Can inbound links be gained by joining google and other groups, if so is it worthwhile?

Originally Posted by the9crow

Can inbound links be gained by joining google and other groups, if so is it worthwhile?

Yes but, only under one condition. If the answers you provide are useful, people will hit the links in your sig. Just remember, the search engines don't care though.
One way to look at it is a way to build community.
Say you have a site about golf and you are in a group about golf. You add a link to your site in your sig.
As you answer questions about golf, and people find your posts useful, you become part of their community. People will visit your site because they've come to respect your opinion on the topic. They will even email their friends about your site. As more and more people respect you and your opinions, people will start linking to you from their sites and blogs.

Will this help your SEO, indirectly only. Will it help increase your knowledge, friends, and community? absolutely.

I just checked. There are clickable links in Google Groups. Lots of them. Millions, like 10 spam messages for every real one. At least in the handful of groups I peeked into. They're all tagged nofollow, as well.

So, short answer, no, this should have zero affect on seo and pr. The links are "active" for users, but don't count for search engines.

Also, while Will Code 4 Beer makes a good point about community building, there's a LOT of spam. My guess is people are going to be hostile to any link drop. So tread with caution. I'm not saying don't do it, but take extra care to make your posts useful, informative, and things the group readers will value. Otherwise you'll get shot down over enemy territory.