With LinkedIn, it’s becoming clear that the audience it has aggregated is creating exactly the kinds of opportunities that could be the foundation of an amazing resource soon. It currently boasts 24 million users in 150 industries. Already, LinkedIn is moving rapidly to serve its fast-growing user community:
- Polling is starting within this group of professionals.
- It is becoming a personalized publishing platform for news content.
- LinkedIn is launching targeted advertising.
- You can find jobs on LinkedIn.
- There is a non-profit-focused aspect called LinkedIn for Good.
- B2B connections are forming, with the recent Martindale-Hubbell partnership.
How fast is it growing? According to these data from Nielsen, LinkedIn is the fastest-growing social networking site (as of April 2008):
Of course, LinkedIn still has a long way to go before it catches Facebook or MySpace, but the gap is not insurmountable. (An aside: interesting article on Facebook as Portal 2.0. LinkedIn is playing the same game.)
Also, LinkedIn has a different audience — professionals. An older article states that the average LinkedIn user is 39 years old and makes $139,000 per year. Facebook may have some of that audience, MySpace less. It’s the audience that matters. Applications like those listed above and others are not the defining characteristic of LinkedIn. Anyone can make the technology, but LinkedIn has the people.
The Society for Scholarly Publishing has a group on LinkedIn. Many other professional groups are starting up.
Welcome to Office Space 2.0. Anyone have a red stapler?
Related articles by Zemanta
Aug 6, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Welcome to the party! Unlike the other “social sites” LinkedIn allows me the opportunity to be connected with individuals which by other means would not be possible.
Though I have ventured else-where the “class” of participants is far more rewarding. The hidden gem is the Answer/Question section, creditable individuals from all directions share some noteworthy points on subject matters that deal with “Business” and the Business of Business.
Which is more important to my growth and career opportunities than Arsenal’s 2-1 victory…………..
Aug 7, 2008 at 5:39 am
I agree. I like LinkedIn although I haven’t made any great strides with it. Facebook just drives me nuts.
Aug 7, 2008 at 5:04 pm
LinkedIn surely got me. It is hard to resist all the cool features they keep adding, and that I actually want to use. This is what happens when you really listen to your users and understand them.
I am also a big fan of Facebook, and Twitter. Each has its place.
Being a greenie, of course I wonder how could LinkedIn, and Facebook, and Twitter further improve their sites to help their members adopt greener lifestyles, without it being contrived? Groups and Causes can only go so far.
http://lamarguerite.wordpress.com/2008/08/07/two-ways-to-go-green-with-social-networks/
Sep 29, 2008 at 7:35 am
[...] also reminds us that following the horse race between social networks, not unlike the media’s obsession with following the horse race in political elections, seems [...]