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LinkedIn Maintains its Place in Social Networking

I have to admit, when I first created a profile on LinkedIn six years ago, I suspected it was something different. It was my first experience with ‘social networking’ even though it wasn’t referred to as such in 2004. Instead it was labeled a professional networking site.

Then along came Facebook, MySpace and all the others but none seemed to be a threat to LinkedIn because it had carved out a specific niche.

Until Facebook grew up and became a destination for Boomers to reconnect with long lost friends, high school buddies, college classmates – and yes – connections with potential employers.

So, it wasn’t surprising when I read the Wall Street Journal article about how leaders at LinkedIn are positioning the site to compete with Facebook in terms of stickiness – or better put – the amount of time visitors spend on the site. And let’s face it if you have a LinkedIn profile and you’re active on Facebook, you know how much time you’re spending on each site. Something like 13 minutes on LinkedIn vs. 213 minutes on Facebook, according to third-party research.

However, it doesn’t take much to figure out that some of the functionality available on Facebook is slowly making its way to LinkedIn, which threatens to disrupt the professionalism of LinkedIn’s character. Hardly anyone ever updated their status on LinkedIn the same way they do on Facebook until recently. And now with the integration of Twitter, users can tweet a LinkedIn status update seamlessly.

But with all of the practical and professional uses of LinkedIn, I want to explore some aspects of the site with the following questions:

1. Do LinkedIn users want to interface with professional connections the same as they do with friends on Facebook?

The answer to this question is obvious as there is a difference between professional contacts and friends. And the comments to the WSJ article bear that out. Most people believe LinkedIn should remain a ‘business networking tool’ while others commented that connections on LinkedIn are not the same as friends on Facebook.

There was a subsequent discussion recently in the Social Media Today group on LinkedIn started by blogger J. Paul Duplantis regarding the proper etiquette in ‘friending’ someone on LinkedIn. In three days the topic drew over 98 comments (and counting), including mine, on what is perceived as the proper way to accept or reject a request to ‘join my network.’ Reading some of the responses it was clear that the differentiation between Facebook and LinkedIn is starting to blur a little bit when it comes to building connections.

2. How do you make effective use of LinkedIn for business?

For those using LinkedIn to source business contacts, there is a new feature called Faceted Search, which allows you to refine or drill down when searching for people based on specific ‘facets.’ Bottom line, you get a much more relevant search using this functionality.

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3. Has anyone ever landed a job or an awesome business deal through LinkedIn?

The answer to this question is really a demonstration of LinkedIn’s value in professional online networking. In light of some of the improvements that are being added to LinkedIn, there are a number of professionals like myself who are taking a second look at LinkedIn as a viable option. And let’s not forget the hundreds of consultants who are doing training sessions on how to make better use of LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is not Facebook. It’s not MySpace and it’s certainly not Twitter. To paraphrase former Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green: LinkedIn is what we thought it was…a social networking tool for professionals.

The last and final question: Is LinkedIn a valuable resource to you? Why or why not?

Tags: facebook, linkedin, myspace, networking, social, twitter

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Comment by Cathy Y. Taylor on January 7, 2010 at 11:32pm: @ Sandy: your initial experience is much like what I experienced six yrs ago. But I have to admit LinkedIn has become much more interactive and an extremely valuable source to manage you personal brand, establish business contacts & to connect with experts. Stay tuned for a followup post featuring a LinkedIn member who found a job thru contacts in her network on LinkedIn.

Note: this response posted from my iPhone. Please excuse any errors in spelling.

Comment by Sandy Kaczmarski on January 7, 2010 at 9:32pm: As much as I try to stay on top of the new media (I'm on Facebook, I blog), I don't Twitter and I don't have a Blackberry. When colleagues asked me to be their friend on LinkedIn, I joined to see what it was all about. I hate to say that I still know very little about how to utilize its resources. As a freelancer who needs to find new resources for professional contacts and networking (with the result of possible jobs), I am anxious to learn how to better utilize my presence. Some contacts exited FB because of too many games, nonsense surveys, and a high school reunion feel. My resolution for this year is to truly become LinkedIn.

Comment by Cathy Y. Taylor on January 6, 2010 at 11:52am: @Neil I gravitated towards Twitter too last year and it's only been in recent months that I've resorted back to LinkedIn as a viable option to build business connections. For me, it's about integrating both LinkedIn and Twitter into my strategy. And I like LI's decision to enable users to tweet status updates. Sweet!

Thanks for commenting.

Comment by Cathy Y. Taylor on January 6, 2010 at 11:50am: @Michelle Love your last line. LinkedIn has a niche that is hard for FB to compete. With the new features and functionality, what we've experience thus far with the social networking tool will only get better and will further differentiate LI from FB.

Thanks for commenting.

Comment by Neil Ferree on January 6, 2010 at 10:58am: I'd echo and agree with Coach Green's sentiments with a minor tweak in that: LinkedIn is for Professionals and Facebook for Pedestrians. At last count, Facebook had over 350 million registered user. That said, if you're going to participate in Social Media circles, you want (and need) to have a presence in both. As much as hate to admit it, I do monitor and use Twitter more often than I probably should.

Comment by Michelle Rawicz on January 6, 2010 at 10:42am: I use Linkedin constantly, it is THE go-to site for business. I don't particularly like the redesign, nor do I feel it should attempt to be more like Facebook. FB is exactly for what you described above: reconnecting with the past and keeping up with family. I would never use FB for work and rarely go on it anyway as it is too time-consuming (I like to share photos there mostly). You are correct about Linkedin, and as far as "friending" just be yourself, always share resources with fellow professionals, and don't hustle anyone. It is a great tool for speaking and working with folks from around the world. Note to Linkedin - stop trying to compete with the rest of them, be yourself. Unique.

Comment by Cathy Y. Taylor on January 5, 2010 at 11:57am: @Robin @Lisa: I agree with you both and strangely enough, have actually spent more time on LinkedIn of late simply because of the new functionality. It's great that they want to compete with Facebook but obviously, not head-to-head competition. Maintain the subtle differences and users will become more engaged.

Thanks for commenting.

Comment by LisaF. on January 5, 2010 at 11:16am: I have to agree with the previous comment, why mix the two? Some like their life away from work. Even though Facebook does have some business applications, it's not the same.

Comment by Robin on January 5, 2010 at 10:50am: I definitely think they should stick to what they do best and play up to the business side! Many don't like to mix both the business with their friends and family (that may be getting too personal). They can incorporate other features in there for the stickiness but not the Facebook type. People know what to expect on LinkedIn and that is why it is different.