Why Facebook Will NEVER Kill LinkedIn
The Facebook boys are happy today, believing the “death” of LinkedIn is finally near, thanks to the supposed “killer” feature the world is alleged to have been waiting on bated breadth for, “sorting out friends”:
We’ll let you organize that long list of friends into groups so you can decide more specifically who sees what.
What a holiday gift? Just make sure that “long list” is not longer than 5000!
In Reid Hoffman: LinkedIn About Face (book), I analyze how LinkedIn has indeed decided it DOES NOW want to be more like Facebook.
From the Facebook side of things, conventional blogosphere wisdom is that by merely allowing Facebookers to tag “friends,” by “type,” Mark Zuckerberg negates the need for LinkedIn.
REALITY CHECK: Neither LinkedIn or Facebook will be able to grab the competitive market share they wish to from each other. What is more likely to happen is that both the LinkedIn and Facebook crossover dreams will turn into brand nightmares, potentially decreasing usage.
I recount how many in the real world want to avoid LinkedIn at all costs, in a report from the field: Deal Maker on LinkedIn: ‘What Do I Do With It?’ A who need LinkedIn attitude will undoubetdly grow, along with LinkedIn’s desire to retool the site to spur more application time sinks, in good Facebook fashion.
If LinkedIn remains ONLY for professional use, however, and does not succumb to Facebook fever all the way, Facebook remains the runnerup for business networking. Facebook is a colorful toy, an unassuming platform for pushing EVERYTHING to EVERYBODY. Grouping friends does nothing to make the entire Facebook experience a targeted, professional one.
LinkedIn, for now, still is a 100% pure professional space. The day Reid Hoffman OKs turning on the “social” connections tab at LinkedIn, however, to mirror Facebook’s new business groupings potential, all LinkedIn bets are off.
Every company wants to have it all. The more successful Web properties deviate from the core essence of what drove growth and usage in the first place, however, the more they risk diluting the unique value proposition fueling popularity. Case in BIG point, Google. SEE: Google Knol: The End of Google.com, NOT Wikipedia
ALSO: Twitter and Facebook: The BIG Illusions of Friendship and Influence
PLUS: Google Zeitgeist: $200 University Payola AdWords Scam and Digg: TechCrunch Bails on Arrington Web 2.0 Fave and Facebook: Bloggers Kick Zuckerberg Off Throne, What Were They ‘Smoking’?” and Beacon Privacy Solution: STOP USING FACEBOOK! and YAY? Weblo Cheapens Facebook ‘Friendship,’ Whales Rejoice!