Is Facebook The Next LinkedIn?

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.

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952 CommentsIs+Facebook+The+Next+LinkedIn%3F2007-06-13+13%3A29%3A22Nick+O%27Neill »

[...] using Facebook more and more as my primary method of keeping in touch with people. Additionally, as I mentioned last month I have been increasingly using Facebook as a resource for adding my professional contacts. While my [...]

Pingback by Facebook As An Email Alternative - The Unofficial Facebook Blog — July 15, 2007 @ 3:02 pm
More than 65 million visitors checked out career sites in June 2009. About 45% of HR professionals in the United States are using at least one social network to check on those leads.

A summer 2009 survey for CareerBuilder.com conducted by New York based research firm, Harris Interactive, indicates that 47% of U.S. HR professionals use Google to search for the names of their job candidates. 29% of U.S. HR professionals use Facebook and only 26% use LinkedIn to check on the job applications that they receive.

This is bad news for Linkedin because they claim to provide a service to benefit and advance their registered user’s career.

http://idaconcpts.com/2009/12/31/linkedin-vs-face...

Comment by Facebook User — February 22, 2010 @ 1:11 pm

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[...] using Facebook more and more as my primary method of keeping in touch with people. Additionally, as I mentioned last month I have been increasingly using Facebook as a resource for adding my professional contacts. While my [...]

Pingback by Facebook As An Email Alternative - The Unofficial Facebook Blog — July 15, 2007 @ 3:02 pm

More than 65 million visitors checked out career sites in June 2009. About 45% of HR professionals in the United States are using at least one social network to check on those leads.

A summer 2009 survey for CareerBuilder.com conducted by New York based research firm, Harris Interactive, indicates that 47% of U.S. HR professionals use Google to search for the names of their job candidates. 29% of U.S. HR professionals use Facebook and only 26% use LinkedIn to check on the job applications that they receive.

This is bad news for Linkedin because they claim to provide a service to benefit and advance their registered user’s career.

http://idaconcpts.com/2009/12/31/linkedin-vs-face...

Comment by Facebook User — February 22, 2010 @ 1:11 pm