eWeek reported that LinkedIn will be launching the LinkedIn Research Network.
I’ve been an active LinkedIn user for years. I like the ritual of adding folks to my network as a next step after you exchange cards/intro emails or face-to-face meetings. Its a handy tool to keep building “relationship momentum”. But I’ve been waiting to see what LinkedIn would do with this stream of social info. It was my first exposure to a social network since it appealed to my stoggy business networking needs but has clearly been outpaced by the likes of mySpace and Facebook – at least for the < 25 group.
The financial research use case seems like a well targeted tool. I’d be curious to track uptake – maybe through the number of unsolicited research requests I get about my customers or associates? It sets a precedent for others directly taking advantage of MY social network connections – that isn’t directly tied to advertising.
My pet concept is to track rate of change by person and company of individual profiles and make this available to recruiters or others interested in tracking what a company is really doing. Funny how obvious this semi-public resume primping telegraphs a person’s intent or taken in aggregate a company’s direction. Seems like I get recommendation requests from people right before they plan to jump ship.
