The Rise of LinkedIn

The groundbreaking rise of social media is quite evident in our modern day, as it has grown to become completely integrated into our daily lives. These social networking platforms allow individuals to share information about themselves to the world, through profiles that develop one’s personal brand image. It is not uncommon for people to check up regularly on their social media profiles, whether it be updating their Facebook status, sharing a picture on Instagram, or tweeting a message on Twitter. These daily rituals are impactful because they work; they generate interest and provide a way for information sharing.

In the early 2000s, the introduction of these revolutionary social platforms grew to become very popular, with sites like MySpace and Friendster becoming a huge hit. However, a particular segment was missing in the industry; a social network for business professionals. By 2003, LinkedIn was introduced into the world and progressively grew into a company that most start-ups dream about. Today, LinkedIn is without a doubt one of the world’s most popular social network websites for business professionals. Being one of the fastest growing social networks with over 467 million members, it would be absurd for any digital marketer or company with the vision of growing their business to not be active on this platform.

LinkedIn is a platform that allows users to create profiles, highlighting their current and prior work experiences. The virtual professional network has transformed from an online resume to a comprehensive personal branding tool. It has truly developed on the idea that people don’t get far in life with just showing off their awards, merits, and knowledge; it all comes down to who you know and the connections you have. LinkedIn puts emphasis on the importance of developing these “connections”, and leveraging this tool to get in touch with the important professionals within an industry.

LinkedIn strives to achieve continual growth and expansion, with plans to create a revolutionary network in the future that can change lives. Their ultimate goal is to develop the world’s first economic graph, intending to digitally map out the entire global economy. This will identify the connections between people, jobs, skills, companies, and professional knowledge, highlighting and showcasing the trends of economic opportunities in store. CEO Jeff Weiner plans to digitally capture every economic opportunity in the world, the skills required to acquire these opportunities, as well as profiles for every company and business in the world. However, with over 3 billion people in the global workforce, 187 million LinkedIn members, 2.8 million active company profiles, and 1 million professionally oriented groups, it will take a long while for this dream to become a reality. Check out the project here!

So if you’re not on LinkedIn, make sure you hop on the bandwagon!