I was surprised when I was reading some stats from the PEW Internet & American Life Project via ReadWriteWeb. Apparently the majority of adult social network users are not using the networks for business or professional networking. According to the PEW report the majority of adults (89%) are using social networks to stay in touch with friends. A surprising 6% of all adult users on the Internet are using LinkedIN which makes more sense if you think about it.
LinkedIN has boasted around 30 million users and when you think about the odd 250 million Internet users worldwide… it makes complete sense.
My question for LinkedIN and other professional social networks?
How do you get more people onto your site? How do you utilize your far from perfect application development and draw in more business owners, corporate professionals, and white-collar individuals?
Or does it matter?I don’t think LinkedIN has to expand to the point when they are catering to the people who will not use social media.
It isn’t about numbers anymore. You do not need 60 million people on a network to start making money. LinkedIN should be focusing on it’s 30 million members… switching them over to the premium service.
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i can't agree with you more Kyle. not every site has to be the biggest, it's just not a business model that is going to work for everyone. LinkedIn's model is for a specific segment of the internet and their value to the current customers, as well as to their advertiser clients is to have an extremely strong niche presence and be the best at it.
This is a really really important point that still hasn't seemed to take root with a lot of social networks. Concentrate on what you have…and make their experience better. If you can do this? The goodwill, community and features that you create will gain buzz and your evangelists will carry your flag.
Pleasing the user=making money.