LinkedIn is an online social networking platform specifically designed for professional and business networking. Unlike typical social media platforms that cater to general interests, LinkedIn focuses on fostering professional connections, which are essential for career development. Users can create profiles similar to digital résumés, showcasing their job experience, skills, and education while connecting with others in their industries. The platform also allows for job searches, job listings by employers, and networking opportunities through features like LinkedIn Groups and the Influencers program.
Founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and launched in 2003, LinkedIn initially experienced slow growth but eventually gained significant traction. By 2024, it had surpassed one billion users globally. The platform operates on a freemium model, offering various features for free while providing premium subscriptions for enhanced services. In addition to connecting job seekers and employers, LinkedIn serves as a resource for sales professionals and entrepreneurs seeking business opportunities. The site’s emphasis on verified connections fosters a professional environment, setting it apart from other social media networks.
LinkedIn is an online social-networking website that is used for professional business networking. Unlike other social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter that cater to general social interests, LinkedIn is designed specifically for professional networking based upon the reality that business connections remain significant factors for starting and progressing careers. On LinkedIn profiles, which serve as a kind of digital résumé, users can list their job experience, skills, education, and business connections. The service allows people to search for a job, connect with professional partners in a wide range of fields, and a variety of other business-related tasks. Employers can use the site to list jobs and search for potential new hires.
Alongside the professional networking aspects of LinkedIn, the service allows users to post images, share articles and videos, and take advantage of other functions common to social-networking websites. Companies can also make their own business pages for users to follow that include their information and job listings. Other features supported on LinkedIn include interest groups where users discuss specific business-related topics, and the LinkedIn Influencers program where professionals share their insights with members.
Brief History
Entrepreneur and investor Reid Hoffman founded LinkedIn in late 2002. Previously, Hoffman was executive vice president in charge of development at the e-commerce service PayPal. After PayPal was sold to the online shopping platform eBay, Hoffman decided to start LinkedIn with his share of the money. When he founded the company, the United States was experiencing an economic downturn, which Hoffman believes added to LinkedIn’s competitive advantage.
He recruited a team of colleagues from PayPal and SocialNet to help him create the service and build the company. These colleagues included Allen Blue, Lee Hower, and David Eves. After six months of development, LinkedIn officially launched on May 5, 2003. Growth was slow during the first few weeks, with thirteen of the company’s employees inviting 112 people to join the service. However, the growth was enough to draw the attention of venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, which became the company’s first investor.
In 2004 LinkedIn began experimenting with new features like address book uploads and LinkedIn Groups. That year the company also partnered with the credit card service American Express to promote their products to small business owners. In 2005 LinkedIn launched three revenue streams so the site could begin making money outside of investments. These revenue sources were job listings, subscriptions, and advertising.
The following year, LinkedIn introduced public profiles, which helped establish the service as a legitimate professional profile for potential job candidates. The site also introduced central features like “recommendations” and “people you may know” to further the networking experiencing. The company first experienced profitability in 2006.
LinkedIn continued to grow and in 2008 the company opened its first international office in London, United Kingdom, and launched French and Spanish language versions. In 2011, LinkedIn filed for an initial public offering (IPO) so its stock could be traded on the open market. The first shares were sold on May 19, 2011, and the price of shares increased as much as 171 percent during the first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
In 2016, LinkedIn was purchased by the technology corporation Microsoft. In 2019, the site launched a feature that supported freelancers. In 2022, the company had a revenue of $13.8 billion and supported 20,000 employees.
Overview
LinkedIn is a professional-networking service that allows users to build business connections, look for jobs, and find potential job candidates. The users of the service range from people searching for a job to executives of Fortune 500 companies. The site contains several features that enable users to connect and engage with their professional network. While many features are provided free of charge, premium subscriptions are available so that professionals can better manage their networks and business identity.
A LinkedIn professional profile contains a user’s basic information and work experience. It acts as a résumé, with a focus on employment and education. There is also a section where users can provide information on certifications, specific skills, affiliated groups, and other honors. After creating a profile, users can then search for contacts by uploading their e-mail address book and by performing a general search. LinkedIn also finds colleagues based on the employment information and education history users provide.
Unlike other social media services where a person is added as a casual “friend,” network “connections” on LinkedIn typically mean that the two people know each other well as trusted business associates and can vouch for their work experience and skills. Contacts who accept a user’s invitation to connect are known as “direct connections.” Everyone a direct connection is affiliated with becomes a part of his or her network. How directly a user is connected to another user dictates how they can communicate with each other.
LinkedIn Groups allows users to hold a discussion about a specific business-related topic. While other social media services such as Facebook allow users to create their own groups without hindrance, a panel of professionals must first review new groups that wish to be added to LinkedIn. Once a group is allowed, that group’s manager can accept or reject applications from users to join.
Many users rely on LinkedIn to stay in touch with colleagues or classmates. Others use it to actively search for jobs and post job listings. Companies that post job listings on the website must pay a fee to do so. LinkedIn’s audience goes beyond employees and employers as well. Salesmen also use LinkedIn to engage with contacts in their target industry, and entrepreneurs can use the site to look for potential business partners and investors.
Popularity
Since its launch, LinkedIn has become immensely popular around the world. Initially, LinkedIn’s user adoption was slow. In its first week the service had 2,500 users and after the first month this grew to 6,000. By November 2003, there were 37,000 users. After two years, the service had more than 1.7 million registered users. The company’s then chief executive officer, Jeff Weiner, reported that one new user was joining the site every second as of November 2010, bringing the total to eighty-five million.
From there, LinkedIn’s popularity increased dramatically as its reputation as a legitimate professional network continued to grow. In 2024, the service boasted over one billion users in over two hundred countries and territories.
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