Difference between revisions of "LinkedIn"

Revision as of 21:07, 26 October 2012

LinkedIn's Logo

LinkedIn is a social networking website designed for those in professional careers. Created for the business-user in mind, it was founded in December of 2002 in Santa Monica, California and was officially launched in May of 2003. With over 175 million users from across the globe and with different occupations, LinkedIn is meant as a medium in which users professionally network. Available in over 200 languages, LinkedIn is rated as the third largest social networking website, after Facebook and Twitter.^[1] The headquarters are located in Mountain View, California.

History

The idea of LinkedIn was first thought of by the site's co-founder, Reid Hoffman. A year later in May of 2003, the website went official, and a month later 4,500 members have joined the website. At the end of 2003, there were more than 81,000 members and in 2004, there were over one million.^[2] Reid Hoffman, the prior CEO was previously a Yahoo! executive and with other members such as those from PayPal, Socialnet.com, Electronic Arts, Microsoft and others, LinkedIn was started.^[3]

To this day, LinkedIn generates funds from three main sources: Premium subscriptions, corporate solutions, and advertisements.^[4] A new member joins LinkedIn about every two seconds, and all Fortune 500 executives are on LinkedIn ^[5]

Features

LinkedIn Sample Profile

There are features that LinkedIn promotes as being unique to them.
- Having a resume automatically created using the built in work experiences and educational background, or having the ability to upload their own resume.
- The ability to write recommendations for other users in order to highlight experiences.
- The ability to find jobs and bookmark them for later use.
- The ability to create a list of skills that a user possesses.
- The ability to view who has viewed your profile.
- The ability to give endorsement points for each of an individuals skills (*New Feature)

Another new feature that is similar to that of twitter is the ability to now "follow" individuals profiles, and so when they post anything new, you can see notifications.

Mobile

In 2012, LinkedIn unveiled a new mobile application for the iPhone, Android, and iPad devices. With this application, users can accept invitations, view who has viewed their profile, and share various items. In addition, members can see connections as to what different companies follow, and can also find job listings. ^[6]

Premium Subscription

In addition to the standard membership, LinkedIn has many paid options for recruiters and general employees, payable monthly or annually.^[7]
These options include a number of "InMails", another form of direct messaging that guarantees a response or you get the credit back, more search results, and many more options depending on the account.

Ethical Implications

Security Breach

In June 2012, LinkedIn was a victim to a security breach that had caused millions of user passwords to emerge. LinkedIn invalidated the stolen passwords, but it was not known if other credentials were stolen as well. LinkedIn faced criticism as many security experts stated that the company's security systems were not sophisticated enough for modern day standards.^[8]

References

1. ↑ http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social-networking-websites
2. ↑ http://www.slideshare.net/ctnconsulting/linkedins-history-present-and-recent-features
3. ↑ http://press.linkedin.com/about
4. ↑ http://www.slideshare.net/ctnconsulting/linkedins-history-present-and-recent-features
5. ↑ http://www.slideshare.net/ctnconsulting/linkedins-history-present-and-recent-features
6. ↑ http://mashable.com/2012/09/06/linkedin-mobile-smartphones-ipads/
7. ↑ http://www.linkedin.com/mnyfe/subscriptionv2?displayProducts=&family=talent&trk=home_level
8. ↑ http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/10/uk-linkedin-breach-idUSLNE85900520120610

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