When Microsoft [henceforth MS]
announced the acquisition of LinkedIn [henceforth LI], at first I thought - why
in the world? But after looking at both the [large] number of users LI has and
also the quality of LI’s users [all grown-up professionals], I now feel
that LI is one of those very few social networks in
the world that have the real potential to become serious
Facebook rivals, provided these networks morph into full-blown social
networking platforms [others include Skype and Twitter]. It's my genuine fear
that FB might become insurmountable soon if a strong rival to it doesn't emerge
soon - and existing networks with hundreds of millions of users have the best
chance of rivaling FB. New networks simply don't stand a chance due to network effect.
That being said, LI shouldn’t
alter/adulterate the core ideology behind LI by adding FB-like features
directly to the core LI service. Such a step would corrupt LI's value
proposition - the very proposition that makes people have and use both FB and
LI rather than shifting to FB alone. Instead, a separate service that relies on
LI credentials/identity can be launched which allows these professionals to
have fun with photos, videos, animations, games, etc., without disclosing their
real LI profile.
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