Two years ago I made a predication about LinkedIn and its direction. In recent months I’ve seen many signs that this prediction is well on its way to coming to fruition – or at least towards something pretty darned close. And while I’m glad to say that it was something I saw long ago I’m a little bummed that I was way off in the timeline in which it would be delivered. (I thought it’d be here by now, to be honest.)
My prediction? That LinkedIn would move from network to platform – that LinkedIn would make the jump from Professional Network to Social ATS (go ahead, pick a better term – I don’t mind.) So while LinkedIn isn’t terribly far from this today we continue to see signs of this evolution. But we also see signs showing that they’ve some competition in relation to how they allow networking that if they paid attention to – might help them round the corner to what could be a revolutionary hybrid.
In the world of Social Recruiting we see just a few players that continue to be of note: Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Some would argue that these are only the top three because it’s what Recruiters are comfortable with or because they’re easy to engage and offer just a hint of measuring ROI… I’d say it’s probably all of them and that it isn’t on accident (of course, that’s another article all together.)
Let’s take Twitter out of the conversation for now. Because no matter how much I think it brings points to our game – for the purpose of this conversation it’s like comparing a goalie to a pitcher. So let’s take an apple to apple approach – but keep it high level.
Both Facebook and LinkedIn have very similar features – pages, groups, RSS, applications, filtering, etc. And while it has been traditionally thought that LinkedIn was the only place to go for professional networking with Facebook as a place that was only for college kids and soccer moms, this just simply isn’t the case any longer.
I’m interested in the social aspects that seem to be failing on the LinkedIn side. I’m drawn to the simple things that cause my business contacts to continue to be seen more frequently on Facebook as opposed to LinkedIn – and not just because of the games (and perhaps almost in spite of them.)
- True “Social”
Interaction with networked contacts has never been easier than on Facebook. Contact filtering for group messages and various pages to join OR create allows limitless possibilities around interests both professional and casual. - Freedom of Content
The ability to add and remove applications and features on Facebook is hands down more engaging than the very limited and sometimes awkward alternative in LinkedIn. - Instant Messaging
Facebook’s live chat has already proven to be a much quicker way to reach many of my professional contacts. I’d place it in my top 3 – with LinkedIn messaging/email a few options behind. - Easy Integration
While Facebook still struggles with Google in this arena we still see many blogs and portals incorporating it’s Facebook Connect feature – not to mention the latest acquisition of Friend Feed.
Yes, I know – there are “professional” aspects to LinkedIn that are offered up to us like official business pages and “recruiter” accounts… but imagine the power and appeal that LinkedIn might have if they took lessons on the impact that social has – when permitted to really be social. And please don’t get me wrong – Facebook has a list of things that aren’t perfect and require a bit of time to manage and filter, but their growth and flexibility should warrant our attention if not just the notification streams we are fed from our friends each morning.
I’m of the opinion that if/when LinkedIn pulls together the things that are working for Facebook in relation to networking and communicating, we’ll see them move even closer to the “cloud” based Social ATS or at a minimum – the professional networking powerhouse that is has the potential to be. Yes, both are incredibly reliant on advertising – and currently only LinkedIn has payment memberships (note: currently.) But there’s tremendous room here to flex and grow and customize – and perhaps even integrate completely into existing businesses.
And yes – I still see a very possible shift (if LinkedIn were interested, that is) that could move them towards a very robust and “social” and complete ATS option for many companies/recruiters. I would venture to say that this pinnacle of evolution would truly be the climax of almost any social network built with recruiting or professional networking in mind – a social cloud existence, if you would. (and I mean this in the least sleazy of friend stream terms, of course.)
