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LinkedIn Opening Platform

Posted by Nick O'Neill on June 24th, 2007 2:01 PM
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LinkedInLast night I received a tip: LinkedIn is considering opening their platform to developers. If true, this would be huge news. While a bit skeptical, there are a few reasons that this could actually be taking place. Since Facebook opened their platform almost a month ago, I have been receiving the majority of my professional contact requests through Facebook and not LinkedIn. I have read others around the blogosphere that are experiencing the same phenomenon. As this occurs, LinkedIn is going to have to take some sort of action that keeps them in the game. This may be it. Enabling developers to build applications for their network would be huge, but they would also have to be cautious when launching a developer platform. LinkedIn is known for its absence of distractions within profiles. If they opened their platform, individuals’ profiles could rapidly become cluttered with excess features. As a result LinkedIn would need an effective application filtering process that only allows value-added applications to their platform. While this is currently an unverified source, it makes a lot of sense.

Additionally, I’ve been thinking more about how Facebook could really put the nail in LinkedIn’s coffin. Facebook currently offers the ability to control how much of your profile individual friends can view. Some friends can only view my limited profile, while others can view everything about me. While I have yet to take advantage of this feature, taking it one step further could be the end of LinkedIn. If Facebook allowed users to differentiate between their professional and social relationships and control what parts of their profile are visible based on relationship type, it would be the end of most social networks. There would no longer be the need for spreading your relationships across multiple social networks since you can control all of them from one place. Additionally, using the existing platform someone could already develop an application that provides alternative profiles for users. While this won’t be as effective as Facebook developing it them self, it would be a step in the right direction.

LinkedIn is still growing like gang busters (adding over 180,000 users per day on top of an existing user base of 11 million) and they are going to have to take immediate action to secure them self as the leader in business networking. Weeks ago, LinkedIn CEO Dan Nye claimed that they will “own business networking.” Such confidence could prove disastrous if Facebook heeds my advice to allow users to differentiate between professional and social relationships. Perhaps Nye’s confidence was based on the fact that he knows LinkedIn has something up their sleeve. That something may just be opening up their platform. According to CNN LinkedIn may even choose to become integrated with Facebook.

Wouldn’t it at least be smart, then, for LinkedIn to deploy itself as an application on Facebook, given Facebook’s new open API strategy? Quite possibly, said Nye who pointed out that Hoffman was an early investor in Facebook, and that Facebook backer Peter Thiel also has money in LinkedIn. “We know each other well,” said Nye. “We like each other.”

The bottom line is that a battle has been started between the two networks (both Valleywag and Scoble have commented on this) and the opening of LinkedIn’s platform may only be retaliatory attack to Facebook’s decision to open up. This will surely be a good fight.

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61 Comments »

  1. I posted on this over at my zdnet blog a week or so ago. I think LinkedIn needs to do something to add more value for non-paying users.

    Comment by steve — June 24, 2007 @ 2:10 pm

  2. While this is an interesting development, should I be considered "old school" if I like my social networks separate? I love how clean Linkedin is…and don't know that I'd want to muddy it with additional apps. Facebook would have to enable multiple profiles within an account in order to satisfy the need to tailor profile data to specific sub audiences. For example, I'd want my friends to see a certain picture of me, and have access to my personal cellphone, while I'd like my professional contacts to see a different picture and number etc. That's certainly possible to do, but is it what we want facebook to be?

    Comment by Peter Corbett — June 24, 2007 @ 2:11 pm

  3. A Few Facebook (and LinkedIn) Thoughts…I've been mulling around a post on Facebook for a day or so. I signed up for Facebook sometime this past winter, but didn't really do much of anything with my account there until April, when……

    Comment by Fiat Lux — June 24, 2007 @ 2:49 pm

  4. I posted on this over at my zdnet blog a week or so ago. I think LinkedIn needs to do something to add more value for non-paying users.

    Comment by steve — June 24, 2007 @ 3:10 pm

  5. LinkedIn and FaceBook are in competition? I've never felt that, because they do two totally different things. Most people in my FaceBook would never be friended on LinkedIn, and vice versa.. one's for hard core "networking" and business stuff, and the other are acquaintances, friends, people I used to know at school, etc.

    Comment by Peter Cooper — June 24, 2007 @ 3:18 pm

  6. [...] Nick O’Neill also posts on this topic, and speculates on Facebook adding a professional dimension to its service to compete with Facebook. [...]

    Pingback by » LinkedIn to open up to developers | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com — June 24, 2007 @ 4:16 pm

  7. While this is an interesting development, should I be considered “old school” if I like my social networks separate? I love how clean Linkedin is…and don’t know that I’d want to muddy it with additional apps. Facebook would have to enable multiple profiles within an account in order to satisfy the need to tailor profile data to specific sub audiences. For example, I’d want my friends to see a certain picture of me, and have access to my personal cellphone, while I’d like my professional contacts to see a different picture and number etc. That’s certainly possible to do, but is it what we want facebook to be?

    Comment by Peter Corbett — June 24, 2007 @ 6:11 pm

  8. A Few Facebook (and LinkedIn) Thoughts…

    I’ve been mulling around a post on Facebook for a day or so. I signed up for Facebook sometime this past winter, but didn’t really do much of anything with my account there until April, when……

    Trackback by Fiat Lux — June 24, 2007 @ 7:49 pm

  9. LinkedIn and FaceBook are in competition? I’ve never felt that, because they do two totally different things. Most people in my FaceBook would never be friended on LinkedIn, and vice versa.. one’s for hard core “networking” and business stuff, and the other are acquaintances, friends, people I used to know at school, etc.

    Comment by Peter Cooper — June 24, 2007 @ 7:18 pm

  10. [...] social network LinkedIn to open its platform to developers? Favorite Social [...]

    Pingback by LinkedIn Opens Platform | Orangeply — June 24, 2007 @ 8:32 pm

  11. [...] compared the humid sweltering of south east Asia. What’s most intersting is to see that LinkedIn has decided to open up a platform, I just wrote a piece yesterday saying why this is important, and last week too. I guess we were [...]

    Pingback by Web Strategy by Jeremiah » Back from Singapore — June 24, 2007 @ 8:32 pm

  12. [...] as Facebook becomes the social networking platform of choice for professional networkers. Like Nick O’Neil, nearly all my professional networking requests lately have come through Facebook, and although in [...]

    Pingback by LinkedIn To Open Platform In Response To Facebook — June 24, 2007 @ 9:41 pm

  13. [...] what appears to be an attempt to “platformize” it the way Facebook did — at least according to a tip that the site All Facebook got (and to a report from Dan Farber at ZDNet). Will it work? Who knows. [...]

    Pingback by Is it too late for LinkedIn to catch Facebook? » mathewingram.com/work — June 24, 2007 @ 10:17 pm

  14. [...] is trying to fill the niche to be the networking site for grown-ups with jobs is now feeling the heat from Facebook, so they are investigating opening their platform in a similar way. This is not to [...]

    Pingback by LinkedIn to open up to developers | ZDNet.com « Sit, Ubu, Sit! Good dog! — June 24, 2007 @ 10:44 pm

  15. [...] as Facebook becomes the social networking platform of choice for professional networkers. Like Nick O’Neil, nearly all my professional networking requests lately have come through Facebook, and although in [...]

    Pingback by Ajax Girl » Blog Archive » LinkedIn To Open Platform In Response To Facebook — June 24, 2007 @ 11:08 pm

  16. [...] Despite historical and continuing growth, LinkedIn is under direct threat from Facebook in the professional-networking market. Facebook gets more users and more functionality, its network effects are going to push hard at other social networks. And Facebook’s demographic is going to steal more and more from LinkedIn as their core college market matures and graduates into the workforce – taking Facebook with them. [...]

    Pingback by LinkedIn to announce Knee-Jerk reaction to Facebook « TechFold — June 24, 2007 @ 11:32 pm

  17. [...] Riley at Techcrunch, Nick O’Neill with All Facebook and Richard McManusalso of Read/WriteWeb think the same. Both Duncan and Nick have profiles with [...]

    Pingback by Linked in to launch an open platform similar to Facebook — June 24, 2007 @ 11:50 pm

  18. [...] as Facebook becomes the social networking platform of choice for professional networkers. Like Nick O’Neil, nearly all my professional networking requests lately have come through Facebook, and although in [...]

    Pingback by LinkedIn To Open Platform In Response To Facebook | moraaz.org - feed all tech! — June 25, 2007 @ 12:51 am

  19. The most popular Facebook app by far is Top Friends which allows users to select a small number of their best friends to display separately form their other friends. In essence, Top Friends allows users to change the nature of their relationships/friendships with other users. Facebook taking that concept – different kinds of relationships: social, best friends, professional, etc – to the next level as you suggest in your post would make a lot of sense. This would make Facebook a lot more useful to professionals and would put LinkedIn and perhaps other vertical social networks under pressure, depending on how it's implemented. What's more is that Facebook users (well, at least the 6,758,905 Top Friends users and the many users who maintain both Facebook and LinkedIn profiles) are no doubt ready to embrace such a change.

    Comment by Dave Wilson — June 25, 2007 @ 1:03 am

  20. [...] [3] TechCrunch: LinkedIn To Open Platform In Response To Facebook [4] All Facebook: LinkedIn Opening Platform Sphere [...]

    Pingback by » LinkedIn APIs For Developers In The Pipeline || Pulse 2.0: Web 2.0 Reviews & Profiles || » Blog Archive — June 25, 2007 @ 1:10 am

  21. Linkedin macht es Facebook nach: Gesamtsystem statt Nischenanwendung……

    Comment by HighText iBusiness — June 25, 2007 @ 1:19 am

  22. The most popular Facebook app by far is Top Friends which allows users to select a small number of their best friends to display separately form their other friends. In essence, Top Friends allows users to change the nature of their relationships/friendships with other users.

    Facebook taking that concept – different kinds of relationships: social, best friends, professional, etc – to the next level as you suggest in your post would make a lot of sense. This would make Facebook a lot more useful to professionals and would put LinkedIn and perhaps other vertical social networks under pressure, depending on how it's implemented.

    What's more is that Facebook users (well, at least the 6,758,905 Top Friends users and the many users who maintain both Facebook and LinkedIn profiles) are no doubt ready to embrace such a change.

    Comment by Dave Wilson — June 25, 2007 @ 2:03 am

  23. [...] as Facebook becomes the social networking platform of choice for professional networkers. Like Nick O’Neil, nearly all my professional networking requests lately have come through Facebook, and although in [...]

    Pingback by Just a random blog ! — June 25, 2007 @ 2:13 am

  24. [...] di un social network più rispondente alle proprie esigenze. E a Facebook basterebbe veramente poco aggiungere una dimensione “professionale” ai propri [...]

    Pingback by LinkedIn si aprirà agli sviluppatori, mentre Xing si compra Neurona — June 25, 2007 @ 2:51 am

  25. LinkedIn Opening Platform…This story has been submitted to Stirrdup. If it can generate enough interest, it will make it to the main page….

    Comment by Stirrdup Trackback — June 25, 2007 @ 3:12 am

  26. I wonder if other social networks will soon follow.

    Comment by Text Generator — June 25, 2007 @ 3:28 am

  27. [...] as Facebook becomes the social networking platform of choice for professional networkers. Like Nick O’Neil, nearly all my professional networking requests lately have come through Facebook, and although in [...]

    Pingback by LinkedIn To Open Platform In Response To Facebook — June 25, 2007 @ 3:34 am

  28. Linkedin macht es Facebook nach: Gesamtsystem statt Nischenanwendung…

    …

    Trackback by HighText iBusiness Medien-Technik-Wirtschaft — June 25, 2007 @ 6:19 am

  29. [...] lots of buzz about LinkedIn opening up its API to outside developers – and the inevitable comparisons with Facebook, which pulled off the same [...]

    Pingback by Mark Evans - LinkedIn vs. Facebook? Not Really — June 25, 2007 @ 7:02 am

  30. LinkedIn Opening Platform…

    This story has been submitted to Stirrdup. If it can generate enough interest, it will make it to the main page….

    Trackback by Stirrdup Trackback — June 25, 2007 @ 8:12 am

  31. I wonder if other social networks will soon follow.

    Comment by Text Generator — June 25, 2007 @ 7:28 am

  32. [...] as Facebook becomes the social networking platform of choice for professional networkers. Like Nick O’Neil, nearly all my professional networking requests lately have come through Facebook, and although in [...]

    Pingback by LinkedIn To Open Platform In Response To Facebook « KoOoOoL Games For Mobiles………. — June 25, 2007 @ 8:29 am

  33. I think it would be great if LinkedIn opened their API similar to facebook. But I don't think Facebook and LinkedIn are in direct competition with each other – at least not yet. Facebook continues to be a place for 25- crowd while most people used LinkedIn for professional contacts. There is some overlap, but people use these tools for completely different reasons.

    Comment by Isaac Sacolick — June 25, 2007 @ 9:03 am

  34. [...] and Facebook may be competing for business users, and according to reports like this one, LinkedIn may be opening its platform to plugin applications, just as Facebook has done. Both [...]

    Pingback by Polycot.blog » LinkedIn vs Facebook — June 25, 2007 @ 9:10 am

  35. [...] LinkedIn Opening Platform – The Unofficial Facebook Blog (tags: facebook) [...]

    Pingback by Jeff McNeill » Blog Archive » links for 2007-06-25 — June 25, 2007 @ 9:19 am

  36. [...] Facebook Founder and Chairman Reid Hoffman considering “opening its platform to developers” to play catch up to Facebo… Of course, if Hoffman was NOT evaluating ALL possible future trajectories for LinkedIn, then he [...]

    Pingback by Insider Chatter by Donna Bogatin » LinkedIn vs.Facebook: NO Business Contest — June 25, 2007 @ 9:50 am

  37. [...] LinkedIn Opening Platform – The Unofficial Facebook Blog Since Facebook opened their platform almost a month ago, I have been receiving the majority of my professional contact requests through Facebook and not LinkedIn. I have read others around the blogosphere that are experiencing the same phenomenon. As this occurs, LinkedIn is going to have to take some sort of action that keeps them in the game. Published in: [...]

    Pingback by Facebook challenging LinkedIn « Scotsman on a Horse — June 25, 2007 @ 10:19 am

  38. [...] as Facebook becomes the social networking platform of choice for professional networkers. Like Nick O’Neil, nearly all my professional networking requests lately have come through Facebook, and although in [...]

    Pingback by LinkedIn to open API in response to Facebook « J.O.S.E. — June 25, 2007 @ 10:23 am

  39. [...] or LinkedIn? Posted June 25, 2007 I personally use LinkedIn, but am getting a FaceBook account just in case, sort of like the guy who joined 50+ religions before he died, just in [...]

    Pingback by FaceBook or LinkedIn? « Linux and Unix Links of interest — June 25, 2007 @ 11:31 am

  40. [...] in the coffin of LinkedIn. It’s an interesting discussion at the moment. Nick O’Neill points out that you can control which friends view what on Facebook now, and if this was extended to specify [...]

    Pingback by James Burrage at WebKanix » Facebook and LinkedIn — June 25, 2007 @ 12:19 pm

  41. [...] as Facebook becomes the social networking platform of choice for professional networkers. Like Nick O’Neil, nearly all my professional networking requests lately have come through Facebook, and although in [...]

    Pingback by The Platform « Chillin’ in Suite 200 — June 25, 2007 @ 1:57 pm

  42. I think it would be great if LinkedIn opened their API similar to facebook. But I don’t think Facebook and LinkedIn are in direct competition with each other – at least not yet. Facebook continues to be a place for 25- crowd while most people used LinkedIn for professional contacts. There is some overlap, but people use these tools for completely different reasons.

    Comment by Isaac Sacolick — June 25, 2007 @ 1:03 pm

  43. [...] as if on cue, there are talks that LinkedIn will open up its API as well. For those of us who prefer the professional, corporate-ey feel of LinkedIn this is [...]

    Pingback by Facebook apps « Just Another Digerati Wannabe — June 25, 2007 @ 2:03 pm

  44. [...] – while I’m on the social network thing – LinkedIn just made an announcement about opening up their technology to developers. This is big news and weighs in on my Clash of the Networks post on the side of the Facebook [...]

    Pingback by More social « electronic museum — June 25, 2007 @ 6:05 pm

  45. [...] LinkedIn Opening Platform – The Unofficial Facebook Blog [...]

    Pingback by LinkedIn following Facebook strategy « Joi Podgorny — June 25, 2007 @ 6:37 pm

  46. [...] LinkedIn Opening Platform – The Unofficial Facebook Blog Interesting to note that the first I read about this was on the (unofficial) Facebook blog, then it hit Techmeme et al. (tags: api facebook linkedin networking social web2.0 business socialnetworking) [...]

    Pingback by links for 2007-06-25 « John’s musing — June 25, 2007 @ 7:27 pm

  47. [...] More at TechCrunch and AllFacebook. [...]

    Pingback by LinkedIn API Plans to Compete with Facebook — June 26, 2007 @ 12:55 am

  48. [...] LinkedIn Opening Platform – The Unofficial Facebook Blog I wonder how this would work out and whether it would have an impact on people looking to move from LinkedIn to Facebook? (tags: linkedin facebook socialnetworking api business networking socialnetworks socialweb) [...]

    Pingback by links for 2007-06-26 — June 26, 2007 @ 1:26 am

  49. [...] While this (possible – there are no official press releases regarding LinkedIn opening their platform to developers at this point) late hour effort may may LinkedIn more competitive, I have to agree with Nick O’Neill when writes on AllFacebook, that “Facebook could really put the nail in LinkedIn’s coffin.” [...]

    Pingback by JOBMATCHBOX » Blog Archive » LinkedIn Takes Aim At Facebook? — June 26, 2007 @ 8:13 am

  50. [...] choć nieco stronniczy wpis na ten temat znalazÅ‚em na ‘nieoficjalnym blogu Facebooka’, allfacebook. Nick O’Neill [...]

    Pingback by UK:PL » Fenomen Facebooka - czy LinkedIn bÄ™dzie jak Facebook? — June 26, 2007 @ 11:56 am

  51. [...] networks and website would start opening up as a result of Facebook’s actions. Yesterday I discussed LinkedIn opening up their platform and now Freewebs has as well. While this is not identical to what Facebook has done, [...]

    Pingback by Freewebs Jumps on the Facebook Bandwagon - The Unofficial Facebook Blog — June 26, 2007 @ 3:01 pm

  52. [...] takes a look at LinkedIn’s announcement that they are opening their platform to 3rd parties, which appears to be an effort to compete with [...]

    Pingback by Technology Talk - 06/26/2007 | Kyle's Cove dot Com — June 26, 2007 @ 4:58 pm

  53. [...] recently came across a rumor that the folks over at LinkedIn are considering opening up their platform. That’s great news [...]

    Pingback by Digital Goggles » Open LinkedIn — June 26, 2007 @ 9:35 pm

  54. [...] to converge with business networks.  According to the “unofficial” Facebook blog, Linkedin recently opened up it’s platform to Facebook developers which will allow for integration between the two networks.   A social network within a social [...]

    Pingback by converging social networks: Linkedin, Facebook and exploring Ning « mélange — June 26, 2007 @ 11:46 pm

  55. Social vs Professional…I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I don’t want everyone I know to know everyone else that I know.It’s like when you split up from someone and you suddenly lose a group of friends because they were better friends with y…

    Comment by note to self — June 29, 2007 @ 8:34 am

  56. [...] spend more time socially in Facebook to get LinkedIn notifications.” Nick O’Neill has a post discussing the [...]

    Pingback by LinkedIn to Open Up - How It Can Take On Facebook at My GotChance — June 29, 2007 @ 8:49 am

  57. Social vs Professional…

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I don’t want everyone I know to know everyone else that I know.
    It’s like when you split up from someone and you suddenly lose a group of friends because they were better friends with y…

    Trackback by note to self — June 29, 2007 @ 1:34 pm

  58. [...] some of her co-workers may end up seeing the more personal side of her life. Her suggestions (as I have suggested previously as well) is to allow Facebook users to differentiate between social contacts and professional [...]

    Pingback by The Collision of Social and Professional Worlds - The Unofficial Facebook Blog — July 25, 2007 @ 9:31 am

  59. [...] it lets me share things about myself that I can’t or don’t want to share on LinkedIn. Nick O’Neill has some thoughts on this issue, and suggests that Facebook might “bury” LinkedIn, if [...]

    Pingback by Fiat Lux » A Few Facebook (and LinkedIn) Thoughts — September 29, 2007 @ 3:21 pm

  60. I think after facebook, LinkedIn is the best social networking platform.

    Comment by Facebook application — July 22, 2009 @ 9:31 pm

  61. I posted a comment on your coverage of British UK PM Cameron – but I cannmot see it. Hane a look please!

    Comment by Des McConaghy — February 1, 2011 @ 4:11 am

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