LinkedIn
is a social networking websitethat
uses'Web 2.0' principlesand technologies
to enable professionals to keep in touch with their business
contacts.
Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003 it is one of
the oldest professional networking sites, and its core service has
remained free of charge. As of January 2008, it had more than 18
million registered users across the spectrum of industries, with
five million of them being in Europe.
It competes with Ryze,
XING,
Plaxo,
Yahoo! Kickstart and, the
social networking site Facebook,
among others. However,
LinkedIn
is centred on helping its users to
capitalise on their business contacts, and features searching
capabilities that allow users to find jobs, contacts and answers to
business queries.
Kevin Eyres, LinkedIn managing director for Europe, says that
LinkedIn aims to make its time-poor users more productive by giving
them the means to make the best use of their business
connections.
The website originated in Silicon Valley, and reached a
million users relatively quickly because of its roots in
hi-tech, new media and venture capitalist communities, says
Eyres.
Although many of today's users are in IT and new media, it is
seeing rapid growth in sectors including education and management,
research, hospital and healthcare, construction, retail, financial
services, law, insurance and oil, he says.
From a technology standpoint, LinkedIn provides a framework and
structure for its users to create and display content, and this is
the
essence of Web 2.0, says Eyres. Beyond that, it is down to the
user to build his or her network, and capitalise on it, he
says.
Mike Reid, UK managing director of global services firm Sapient,
says, "Part of LinkedIn's
success lies in its easy-to-use design, offering a useful means
of extending business relationships."
Reid adds, "LinkedIn's fundamental value is in the quality of
contacts that it offers. However this integrity is dependent upon
the way that it is used. Simply adding as many contacts as possible
will only leave you with an expansive contact database that in real
terms is of little use."
Reid believes that LinkedIn has become the main means of keeping
in touch with business contacts in the UK and worldwide, but says
that for more interactive communications, he recommends social
networks such as Twitter.
Another user, Andrew Fawcett-Wolf, managing director of Thrive
Digital, says he has been a big fan of the site from the beginning,
when he was contacted by a company that wanted to use his firm's
services. Since then, he has gathered innumerable contacts through
LinkedIn.
"The primary reason I use it is because it has generated
pre-qualified business leads for my business - that is companies
that need my company's products and services that have reached out
to ask me for help. Having realised this, I have continued to make
a concerted effort to maintain and raise my profile on the
site."
"The second reason is when I want to reach out to a prospect or
potential partner/supplier - it is a great way of contacting the
right person or group without going through the generic 'contact
us' methods."
Commenting on the technology behind LinkedIn, Satnam Brar,
managing director of specialist ERP recruiter Maximus IT, says,
"The Web 2.0 technology has revolutionised the way we communicate
and has made it easier than ever before to keep in touch and share
information with a wide range of people. I am a LinkedIn user and
think that sites like this benefit all.
"How would you ever have such easy access to this large number
of professionals without tools like these online networks? You
never know when tapping into your extended network can prove to be
a real
helping hand in your career, your business or any other aspect
of your life."
However, one slightly more sceptical user, Chris Gledhill,
managing director of enterprise software company PDMS, says,
"Personally I think the technology is pretty impressive but I am
not sure how much
value it creates in practice.
"The real challenge for something like LinkedIn is volume:
achieving a critical mass. That means [creating a situation where]
it's odd if you are not a member, versus the natural scepticism of
busy people who may view it as a spammer's charter. For what it's
worth, I am a member but I don't use it unless it is to respond to
an invitation to join someone else's network which I tend do out of
politeness."
"One of the biggest problems with social networking is deciding
where the
boundaries lie between people's personal and work lives," says
Philip Szomszor, tech blogger and head of client services at public
relations agency Berkeley PR.
"For example, do you want your
boss or client as your 'friend' on Facebook? Is Facebook or
LinkedIn a work or social tool? One business associate I knew
created a Facebook group to use as a project management/discussion
tool, but was surprised that people were resistant to join.
Unfortunately
social networking websites aren't yet sophisticated enough to
understand context, but this will arrive in time."
He adds that in terms of the
recent Web
2.0 technology additions to LinkedIn, the firm "seems to be
clutching at straws".
"LinkedIn seems to have realised that the site had become a bit
of a Panini sticker album, where members collected contacts without
there being an end goal or benefit in sight. So, the danger is that
it becomes bloated with extra functionality without delivering
value for the time people invest in it."
But Szomszor says, "Despite the potential sticker album nature
of collecting contacts, LinkedIn does work nicely as a simple
online address book and CV/profile tool. I've not met anyone that's
won business from it, but I've managed to stay in touch with people
that have moved around jobs. What I like about LinkedIn is that
it's 'work' focused, leaving the likes of Facebook, MySpace and so
on for the stuff that you do in your spare time."
Will McInnes is a LinkedIn user and managing director of social
media agency Nixon McInnes, which works with brands such as BMW, O2
and Fat Face. He says, "The technology is growing in utility from
relatively basic to potentially more interesting.
"The only real 'Web 2.0' innovation on LinkedIn to date has been
'Recommendations' which is good 'ratings & reviews'-type
functionality that aims to provide more context and trust than a
traditional CV."
David Lavenda, vice-president of marketing and product strategy
of WorkLight, a provider of secure Web 2.0 systems, says that
LinkedIn's Web 2.0 technology would be even more useful if the firm
opened up the platform to third-party developers.
"Web 2.0 implies user-defined content, a high degree of
personalisation, an interactive experience, and so on. Allowing
third parties to leverage the LinkedIn social graph would make
it much more valuable."
"For example, opening up the APIs has propelled Facebook to a
position of prominence in the social networking world. Web 2.0
tools can be used securely in the enterprise, if the proper
infrastructure is in place," he says.
Example of a real LinkedIn business network
Name: Funda
LinkedIn member: Six years.
Uses LinkedIn for: Keeping in touch with ex-colleagues,
particularly abroad. Also useful for looking for jobs and project
collaborators.
Comment: "The new
picture option has been a shocker in some ways: there are lots
of contacts I haven't met face to face, and it's quite novel to put
a face to a name, but suddenly it made it feel like Facebook!"
Name: Jack
LinkedIn member: Three years.
Uses LinkedIn for: Keeping in touch with the network HR purposes
approaches from candidates, clients, prospects and even
headhunters/recruiters.
Comment: "We needed to wait to find the best business network as
there was the apparition of quite a few in recent times. Eg. openBC
and Xing."
Name: Sophie
LinkedIn member: Two and a half years.
Uses LinkedIn for: Very little.
Comment: "I haven't seen a professional approach on LinkedIn
yet, compared to
Xing, where I have more professional contacts. At present,
LinkedIn would get an "annoying"-grade from me, not as high as
Facebook, but it's heading that way.
LinkedIn Name: Joshua.
LinkedIn member: Two years.
Uses LinkedIn for: Finding the right people and resources for
various projects involving online marketing, publishing, learning
and management consulting. Found LinkedIn an ideal channel for
word-of-mouth marketing.
Comment: "LinkedIn, unlike MySpace or Facebook, has set a
professional (as opposed to personal/entertainment) stage for
dialogue and thought leadership. I appreciate the opportunity to
collaborate."
LinkedIn Name: Dave.
LinkedIn member: One and a half years.
Uses LinkedIn for: A networking platform to find people and
connect with them.
Comment: "It is useful but I do not use it proactively. I prefer
Xing which is a German networking platform."
LinkedIn Name: Liam
LinkedIn member: One year.
Uses LinkedIn for: Communicating and collaborating with people
around the world, and for the questions and answers tool.
Comment: "I have tried a quite a few alternatives like Xing,
ecademy and others but I much prefer LinkedIn. For me, LinkedIn is
the real extension of the theory that world is flat. I have helped
people in the US and Canada by introducing my contacts who are in
the US and Canada!"
LinkedIn Name: Zeljko
LinkedIn member: Two years.
Uses LinkedIn for: Keeping in touch with the network and keeping
on top of changes in roles and positions at partner and client
companies.
Comment: "I've certainly had a number of head hunter,
job offer and collaboration contacts. LinkedIn definitely sets
a professional tone. It encourages professional behaviour, whereas
some other networking tools lend themselves to more social nonsense
use, and abuse."
LinkedIn Name: Thomas
LinkedIn member: One year
Uses LinkedIn for: Building a contact network, and keeping in
touch with business contacts.
Comment: "It has helped me to reconnect on the new business
front. To be honest, I haven't used all of LinkedIn's services, so
I'm not using it to its full potential."
LinkedIn Name: Eileen
LinkedIn member: A year.
Uses LinkedIn for: Finding other professionals to network and
share knowledge with. Also to reconnect with former colleagues,
friends and business partners.
Comment: "LinkedIn offers a professional face to the social
craze, it is a basic and simple business networking site. There are
some with more functionality, such as Viadeo, so I use both."