Facebook expands or deepens its thrust into the business space with Facebook At Work! This means LinkedIn’s safety net is now threatened. Given the current state of segmenerarion and also specialization, the once upon corporate focus of LinkedIn, if attacked by Facebook and felt by LinkedIn, could imply a potential threat to consumers on LinkedIn as well. If Facebook has your status updates, your photos, your friends circle and even your likes…and you have LinkedIn Facebook with your linkedIn through reference or 3rd party apps, then digitally speaking Facebook only is looking to prime professional information for capital gains. Now Facebook has your life, can predict you even better than Google, knows your capability, understands your moods, and not forgetting the part where they also know your movements.
LinkedIn started as a purely professional platform, it has spread its wings over the past two years with very clear focus on this space. It incorporates like minded platforms, e.g. Slideshare, another professional platform to allow professionals and thought leaders to share documents and stories. Other very tailored acquisions include the news syndication platform – Pulse, Newsle so users can follow their facebook friends, Connected as a social CRM etc.
With a registration base of nearly 400 million folks it may seem not at par with Facebook, but the calibre of people, real professionals on LinkedIn makes it a sort of “higher class” solid social platform.
With Facebook’s move into this space, it means The primary specialization and focus is challenged. All other features and possibilities can be replicated by Facebook given Facebook’s muscle. But what’s the potential impact on Facebook, is it always going to positive or there will be a point at which users will back down from the platform? Clearly it’s become a platform that has created a sticky ecosystem about it. Managing consumption of content on the platform is almost a breez now given the wealth of knowledge the platform has about “you”. LinkedIn has an equal advantage to enter int to the mass market space without fear of looking compettive. Indeed the dilution of the social media enterprise is a good thing after all. If LinkedIn has been playing nice and respecting the market and primary business of Facebook, then this announcement signals the time to equally turn the tide.
No one company should have it all, and we need reputable companies knowing and handling “our” information. The question although is do you feel these are reputable entities you know well enough to share your life with? Or the way of life now is to share?
Related reading: Facebook At Work talk puts pressure on LinkedIn
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