I was also debating calling this post: “My parents are on Facebook and I’m in therapy,” but didn’t, obviously,…so I’ll just leave that as the intro.
Facebook v. LinkedIn. Personal v. Professional. Friday night pics v. Weekday resume. It all faces off here, today.
It’s no mystery that I’ve done extensive research on Facebook. Facebook is where we spend our nights, and LinkedIn is where we spend our days. They aren’t competitors. So everyone who thinks this, STOP! Two different purposes and people won’t mix them. There are more pictures on Facebook than Flickr. There are more resumes on LinkedIn than career sites. Even Bill has a LinkedIn profile (though only 5 connections). Facebook has more people than the entire population of the USA.
So, how do they make money? Let’s discuss:
| Ads | Tons – both commercial and user based | Some, but not all over the place. |
| Data | They sell it – and lots of it | They have it, but no touchy – just searchy |
| Premium Account | Not yet – give it time | You betcha! $24.95 – $499.95 / month! (yah – 500 bucks a month) |
| Add ons | Send virtual gifts for a buck (or more). | There’s always room to pay: introductions, job postings, special emails, etc. All at a price. |
| Third-Party Apps | Do you live under a rock? Uh – Farmville | Just opened up recently – no real big names yet. It’s an API only though; nothing on linkedin.com |
Not a bad quick shot at Facebook v. LinkedIn. I use both. One for personal, one for professional — so let’s keep it that way.
Nice post Matthew. I like the comparison you did between the two. I’m not a user of LinkedIn, but based on reading the case, I totally agree with you that these two sites do not compete. What you put on LinkedIn should remain professional, while people rarely use a filter when it comes to Facebook. I thought it was interesting to see that LinkedIn has features allowing it to charge up to $500/month. I’m not sure what you get with this, but it better give me access to Donald Trump…
On the serious side though, how would you feel about using LinkedIn to try and find a job? Is there more potential here than other job hunting sites? Would it be beneficial to register for the site simply to advertise yourself for employment in the market?
Yah – $500/month is a bit steep for me.
I would totally use LinkedIn for finding a job. Not only does it have it’s own job listings, but if you’re applying for a job outside of what’s listed in LinkedIn, you can use your connections to see who works there already, get an in, and get your resume noticed. Key is to have a good network of people you can trust to connect you (and you to connect them).
I like the comparison between Facebook and LinkedIn as well. With my limited knowledge of both social medias it was nice to know how they make their money. I also had no idea that LinkedIn offered a premium account. I don’t think I would pay $500/month for the LinkedIn services. It will be interesting to see what they bundle for $25/month.