Is Facebook The Next LinkedIn?

Posted by Nick O'Neill on June 13th, 2007 9:29 AM

Many in the blogosphere have been wondering if Facebook is the next place to organize all of your business contacts. I myself have been having similar thoughts. After returning from a week of networking in New York City I proceeded to add many of the contacts that I made to my Facebook friends. I also proceeded to add all of my contacts to my LinkedIn contacts. So will we have to choose between the two or are we going to use both?

I think both networks serve a purpose and will continue to thrive. LinkedIn is strictly professional. Facebook on the other hand is a place where the lines can get blurred between professional relationships and friendships. Additionally, if you grew up in the generation that was on Facebook throughout college, there is a chance that unprofessional photos of yourself could pop up randomly. When another one of your friends decides to upload a picture depicting yourself in an unflattering situation they could easily tag you and suddenly this shows up on your profile. For the older generation, this risk is practically non-existent. I think we will hear more Facebook stories similar to those of MySpace stories where recruiters decide not to hire a potential employee due to random pictures that popped up on their profile.

Bottom line: I think there is room for both networks. Facebook allows people to randomly tag photos of you whereas LinkedIn has no potential of unprofessional photos to suddenly pop-up. If Facebook built in a system that forced you to approve any photos you are tagged in prior to them appearing in your profile, there is a chance that much more networking will take place within the network.

Rate this application:
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading ... Loading ...
Posted in Analysis, Applications
Digg Icon Digg this article Del.icio.us Icon Save to del.icio.us Share Share on Facebook

Trackbacks

blog comments powered by Disqus
Social Media - Monetize Social Media - Market Social Media - Manage Social Media