Thank for your feedback on this article.

As you mention, LinkedIn is not chatty and fun, and the guys at LinkedIn are working real hard at changing that.

For example take a look at this brand new releases from LinkedIn: Sharing News on LinkedIn just got easier – http://wp.me/p3vTS-15D

The main challenge of LinkedIn is to overcome its lack of options for immediate communication. On Facebook you have chat options, sharing options, like buttons, comments on pictures, etc. On LinkedIn you just have forums and that’s pretty much it.

I agree 100% with you that LinkedIn (just like Twitter) it is not a popularity contest. I believe that the key component of LinkedIn are the number of recommendations that you have and the key groups that have approved your membership (some groups have very, very demanding requirements).

I will release soon another article on LinkedIn with updates stats.

Thank you again for visiting idaconcpts.com!

Another difference is that LinkedIn seems primarily a way for individuals to network with other individuals. There are no company profile pages on LinkedIn. Similarly, one’s network on LinkedIn is not a popularity contest. Unless one is in sales or a very externally-oriented career field, it isn’t necessary to spend a large amount of time on LinkedIn, because most people don’t have hundreds of connections in their network. On Facebook, I believe the average number of friends is about 350, and can include all sorts of family, remote acquaintances etc. So yes, it makes sense to spend awhile logged on to FB for active users. Actually, the quoted 58 page/views per visit on FB is huge, for an average value. I don’t doubt it at all, as FB is a very big part of many people’s online social lives. But one shouldn’t need to spend that much time on a professional networking site like LinkedIn.

I would like to see an age breakdown of active LinkedIn users, to compare with Facebook. I’d also like to say thank you for your March 2010 update article. I agree that Csreerbuilder, Monster, and yes even Craigslist (as you cited) are the true competition for LinkedIn. Please consider updating with Q22010 usage data, and include LinkedIn on the same graph as its competitors in the update chart?

Great to hear from a reader from Brazil, I visited Rio back in 2004 and I had a blast. One of the best trips ever!

Here are my comments regarding the two points that you brought up:

1. AT&T Facebook Page
http://www.facebook.com/ATT
April 15th, 2009: 2,071 fans
January 4th, 2010: 179,000 fans
March 8th, 2010: over 302,000 fans
As the number of fans continues to grow, I still think that AT&T is doing a good job at managing its Facebook Page. I do applaud that AT&T does not edit/delete the negative comments/feedback that it receives from its customers/workers. The whole point of social media is to have a 2 way conversation and listening to ALL feedback, BOTH good and bad. Giving a chance to customers/workers to publicly criticize AT&T it is indeed a good idea because it does show that the company cares. Recognizing a problem is the first step towards solving it.

2. Linkedin vs Facebook
I agree 100% with you in that LinkedIn desperately needs more connectedness in its site. Common feature requests that I hear from colleagues are: 1) chat feature (similar to Facebook’s), and 2) project feature (similar to Pepsi’s Recycle project). Having these features would provide a better and more adequate incentive for real-time collaboration between LinkedIn users.

Cheers,
Damian

I use linked in but not facebook. I find that linkedin offers discussions and the ability to join groups but there is a lack of social connectedness about the site. I think facebook definitely offers an informal setting so any serious activity is working off the popularity that it is primarily a social site. Some users don’t want their two lives to cross over in this way but there’s no fun going on at linked in at the moment. To me it’s just an online resume and a forum for the groups you’ve signed up to. Let’s see if they come up with something new soon (besides compatibility with Outlook).

I’m neither for or against LinkedIn by itself, but I am all for smarter ways to connect employers/recruiters with potential employees. From my research, it appears that Facebook has much more potential of achieving this than LinkedIn.

Regarding your question about a breakdown of the age groups of Facebook, check out:

http://idaconcpts.com/2009/05/07/meet-the-digital-mom/

If you have more questions, please let me know.