One issue LinkedIn is facing is whether or not to blur the lines of social and professional media sites. Personally, I think that LinkedIn should stay professional. There are many reasons to keep work and personal life separate. Nevertheless, today’s society and the rapid emergence of new technology has led many to believe that merging the two does not have negative consequences.
Regardless of my beliefs, if LinkedIn wishes to pursue social media interaction on its site, I think the site must give users the choice. If there was a way that users could opt in or out for allowing their profile to interact with other networks would be a way that LinkedIn could progress towards cross-network interaction while still allowing users to maintain a purely professional profile if desired. A lot of user outcry with Facebook has been that users do not feel that they are in charge of personal information. LinkedIn must realize there is demand for consumers to feel in charge of such information and to be able to make changes as desired.
Whether or not LinkedIn chooses to interact with other networks, it must continue to introduce new features or people will be bored and will not want to join or continue using the site. Although the site has high switching costs for users, adding functionality to the site is another way to keep users active and to increase the switching costs. Enticing companies to hold competitions in which users can compete to solve a company’s problem is one way to keep users interested. The companies would also benefit from having new ideas.
Although I may have an old way of thinking, I believe social and professional sites should remain independent. As a result, LinkedIn needs to look into ways to increase current functionality, offer new ways for users to interact with companies, and provide benefits to the companies that pay for the services.
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