I believe what we are seeing is a dawning of the realization that what was once labeled purely "social networking" has true business value- or at least perceived, probable business value- worth exploring. The more that is accepted as legit for business, the more people become willing to sign up and advance themselves without concern that they are looking (to their employers) like they are disloyal and want another job.
Were Facebook to go "pro"- that is, to allow for a resume-style professional view of the profile, allow for users to determine for each friend whether they can toggle between pro and personal, see pro only, or see personal only-, which I would recommend, it could experience a new growth curve as well. (It could also experience a great revenue opportunity in the talent and jobs market.)
I network online primarily for professional (social, but professional) reasons. My LinkedIn network is bigger, true, but my Facebook network is more committed- interacting vs. simply adding connections. I also care more what my Facebook crew is up to.
Most people I interview (in my job) feel Facebook has more social value- and let's not underestimate the value of "social" in a social (even a professionally based social) network.
My day to day on LinkedIn has more to do with accepting and reviewing requests to connect. But there are a lot of people in the world, and theoretically, that network activity could go on for a very long time...
I think we will see it even out- LinkedIn at 30-40 Million users end of year, and then 2 years from now, both networks at about the same size (say each at about 100 Million).
I also imagine LinkedIn will eventually replace the resume... it has for me.
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Were Facebook to go "pro"- that is, to allow for a resume-style professional view of the profile, allow for users to determine for each friend whether they can toggle between pro and personal, see pro only, or see personal only-, which I would recommend, it could experience a new growth curve as well. (It could also experience a great revenue opportunity in the talent and jobs market.)
I network online primarily for professional (social, but professional) reasons. My LinkedIn network is bigger, true, but my Facebook network is more committed- interacting vs. simply adding connections. I also care more what my Facebook crew is up to.
Most people I interview (in my job) feel Facebook has more social value- and let's not underestimate the value of "social" in a social (even a professionally based social) network.
My day to day on LinkedIn has more to do with accepting and reviewing requests to connect. But there are a lot of people in the world, and theoretically, that network activity could go on for a very long time...
I think we will see it even out- LinkedIn at 30-40 Million users end of year, and then 2 years from now, both networks at about the same size (say each at about 100 Million).
I also imagine LinkedIn will eventually replace the resume... it has for me.