Today marks an important day in Silicon Valley and for all of those in the new social media field. LinkedIn is celebrating its tenth birthday. At the tender age of ten it is a successful public company with more than 225 million members, 3,700 employees, and over $300 million in quarterly revenue. It has become what most startups only dream of.
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
– Reason for LinkedIn’s success
Countries Where LinkedIn is Most Popular
- United States (77M+)
- India (19M+)
- Brazil (12M+)
- United Kingdom (11M+)
- Canada (7M+)
How LinkedIn Changed the Professional World
The Beginning of LinkedIn
LinkedIn was one of the first social networks: it was brought up with peers like MySpace and Friendster. Their competitive advantage was to target professionals, not teenagers and young adults. Right after the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, LinkedIn founder, Hoffman, got a running start on his new project. Their goal was simple: get one million users. They achieved this goal in a little less than two years.
LinkedIn’s Turning Point
In the first couple of years, LinkedIn was seen similarly to job search sites. Most used it as a place to host their resumes publicly. However, in the years since, it has revolved into a CRM system for professionals. You can now keep track of your network, build relationships, and recommend coworkers for particular skills.
LinkedIn’s Current Situation
LinkedIn is definitely not invincible. They have been victims of hacks, leaving about 2% of their users with compromised accounts. They have also had many issues with their application. Beyond the fact that it is probably the least user-friendly mobile app – I mean, when you get a LinkedIn email, you have to login separately through the browser instead of just going straight to your app??? – they had issues with collecting user information (without the user completely knowing or agreeing). But all in all, they have a great product and people keep coming back. We love LinkedIn. It is a great service for professional, but it is also extremely beneficial to B2B companies who want to dive into social media. However, you have to use it the right way!
The Future of LinkedIn
When asked where the company was going, co-founder Allen Blue replied that he hopes LinkedIn will help develop a world where “people are doing what they love, not just what they have to. Where professionals understand that the work they do is one of the most significant ways in which they can contribute to their communities and the world.” They might be on the right track!
