What is LinkedIn? LinkedIn Review

1. Introduction

The purpose of the website is to allow registered users to maintain contacts they know and trust in business dealings, commonly known as "connections". Users can invite people they know to become members of their "Connections" circle. As of May 2020, LinkedIn has more than 690 million users, with more than 50 million users in China. On February 25, 2014, the simplified Chinese version of LinkedIn was officially launched, and the Chinese name was announced as "Lingying".

On June 13, 2016, Microsoft's official blog announced that Microsoft and LinkedIn had reached a final agreement, and Microsoft would acquire all of LinkedIn's equity and net cash at $196 per share, totaling $26.2 billion in cash. In 2017, BrandZ ranked LinkedIn 79th with $13.594 billion in the world's top 100 most valuable brands. In October 2019, Interbrand ranked 98th in the world's top 100 brands list.

II. Establishment

LinkedIn was founded in December 2002 and launched in 2003. It is headquartered in Mountain View, California, USA.

The company went public in the United States on May 20, 2011. As of May 2020, LinkedIn has more than 690 million users.

3. Founder

LinkedIn CEO and founder: Reid Hoffman. Reid Hoffman was previously the executive vice president of PayPal and held senior management positions at Intuit Software. After eBay sold it, he founded LinkedIn with some college classmates. According to an Associated Press article, Reid Hoffman's companion is Stanford University graduate Constantin Gewricke.

IV. Revenue Model

Advertising, paid services and additional offers.

5. Vision

Creating economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.

VI. Development History

At the end of 2002, Reid gathered several old colleagues from SocialNet and PayPal to form a team to implement a new idea. Six months later, LinkedIn was officially launched. The initial membership growth was slow, with at least 20 members registering every day. But in the fall of 2003, LinkedIn showed its full potential and successfully attracted investment from Sequoia Capital.

User growth began to accelerate with the introduction of the address book upload function at the end of 2003. In addition, LinkedIn introduced the new feature of Groups and cooperated with American Express to improve services for small business owners.

LinkedIn introduced its first business line: jobs and user subscriptions. The company also moved into its fourth office in three years.

2006 foundation

With the launch of the public profile feature, LinkedIn began to build its professional profile database. The company achieved profitability that year and introduced core features such as recommendation letters and members you may know.

Growth in 2007

After four years as CEO of LinkedIn, Reid invited Dan Nye to lead the company and stepped back to be responsible for product operations. LinkedIn moved to Stierlin Court and established a customer service center in Omaha.

Going global in 2008

LinkedIn became a truly multinational company, established its first overseas office in London, and launched Spanish and French versions of LinkedIn.

New leaders in 2009

Jeff Weiner joined LinkedIn as president and later as CEO, bringing greater focus and clarity to LinkedIn's mission, values, and strategic priorities.

Acceleration in 2010

LinkedIn entered a period of rapid growth. By the end of 2010, LinkedIn had 90 million registered members and nearly 1,000 employees in 10 offices around the world.

Next Steps in 2011

LinkedIn celebrated its eighth anniversary, successfully landed on the New York Stock Exchange, became an international public company, and hosted a Silicon Valley town hall meeting attended by US President Obama. What will be the next step for LinkedIn?

Changes in 2012

The technical overhaul and complete redesign of the website has ushered the website and the company into unprecedented product innovation and technological change, and focused LinkedIn's product strategy on three core concepts: Simplify, Grow, and Everyday.

LinkedIn's 10th Anniversary in 2013

LinkedIn celebrated its first decade, with 225 million registered members and growing at a rate of more than 2 people per second. This year, they had a lot to celebrate.

Next stop in 2014: China

As of April 2014, LinkedIn's global registered members exceeded 300 million. LinkedIn began its strategic layout in China and established its 26th office in Beijing. On February 25, the simplified Chinese beta version of LinkedIn was officially launched, and Chinese became the 22nd official language of LinkedIn.

On April 9, 2015, LinkedIn acquired online education company lynda.com for US$1.5 billion.

Acquired by Microsoft in 2016

On June 13, 2016, Microsoft's official blog announced that Microsoft and LinkedIn have reached a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will acquire all of LinkedIn's equity and net cash for $196 per share, totaling $26.2 billion in all cash.

LinkedIn will maintain an independent brand and operate independently, and Jeff Weiner will continue to serve as LinkedIn CEO and report to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. LinkedIn's board of directors, co-founders and other controlling shareholders fully support this transaction, which is expected to be completed this calendar year.

On August 3, 2016, professional social media platform LinkedIn announced its entry into the video field, with "Internet celebrities" on the platform producing videos of no more than 30 seconds in length in response to questions raised by fans.

Acquired Glint in 2018

In October 2018, LinkedIn announced the acquisition of Glint, a startup aimed at increasing employee engagement in businesses and other organizations.

2020

Due to the impact of the epidemic, the company plans to lay off approximately 960 employees, accounting for 6% of its global workforce.

VII. Products and Services

LinkedIn has three different user products, which also embody three core values.

1. Professional identity

Professional identity is presented as a personal profile. The LinkedIn platform allows you to easily create, manage, and share online professional profiles, fully presenting yourself in the workplace. A complete personal profile is the key to successful job hunting and professional networking.

On LinkedIn, a profile consists of six important sections.

First, profile picture display. A clear and generous profile picture will immediately increase the visibility and authenticity of the profile. Showing a professional image will immediately increase the profile views by 14 times.

The second is career overview. Comprehensively display your career background, field, goals and interests. Write "next step work plan". Summarizing your career status will increase profile views by 7 times.

Third, work experience. Show your work experience, whether full-time or part-time, and provide details related to the position so that profile visitors can quickly understand the work information. Describing work experience increases profile views by 12 times.

Fourth, education background. A complete education background will improve the competitiveness of your personal profile. Fill in information such as summer projects and exchange schools to show your full self. Filling in education background will increase profile views by 10 times.

Fifth, skill recognition. Add multiple skills to get recognition from your contacts. The more recognitions you get, the more attractive your profile will be. Showing your skills can increase profile views by 13 times.

Sixth, letters of recommendation. Invite friends, classmates, teachers or colleagues to write letters of recommendation, which will greatly increase the authenticity of the profile and make skills and work experience more recognized. The number of profile views is directly proportional to the number of recommendations.

2. Knowledge Insight

Pay attention to industry information, absorb people's opinions, learn professional knowledge, improve professional skills, and share business insights. In the rapidly changing Internet era, grasping the pulse of the market and acquiring knowledge and insights are the basis for maintaining professional competitiveness.

3. Business opportunities

Find classmates, colleagues, and partners on LinkedIn, search for positions and company information, and tap into unlimited opportunities. Build and expand your network, master industry information, and let opportunities connect with you to help you develop your career potential.

8. Business Model

LinkedIn has a diversified business model, with its main revenue coming from the recruitment solutions, marketing solutions and paid accounts it provides.

IX. Management Team

Reid Hoffman, co-founder and executive chairman of LinkedIn, founding board member and executive vice president of PayPal, partner of venture capital firm Greylock Partners, one of the most prolific and successful angel investors in Silicon Valley. He was ranked in the top ten of the "Forbes Global Best Technology Venture Capitalists" list from 2011 to 2014, and has successfully invested in Facebook, Zynga, Groupon, Airbnb and other companies. He is known as the "King of Silicon Valley Networking" and was nominated as the 2014 Global Entrepreneurship Ambassador.

On June 13, 2016, Microsoft announced the acquisition of LinkedIn for $26.2 billion, causing LinkedIn's pre-market share price to surge 48%. Microsoft also said that after the acquisition, LinkedIn will continue to develop as an independent brand. Since LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman still holds 14.7 million shares of the company, according to Microsoft's acquisition transaction price for LinkedIn, the equity price will reach $2.88 billion.

On December 6, 2016, the European Union approved Microsoft's $26 billion acquisition of professional social networking site LinkedIn after the company agreed to protective measures proposed by the EU to alleviate its antitrust concerns.

1. Executive Chairman

On June 1, 2020, Jeff Weiner was appointed as LinkedIn's executive chairman, helping the company develop its executive team and handle external relations. Previously, he was LinkedIn's global CEO and also worked for Yahoo. He was named the best CEO of 2014 by Glassdoor, a career and business rating website, "beating" Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

2. Current CEO

On June 1, 2020, Ryan Roslansky, LinkedIn's senior vice president of products, replaced Jeff Weiner as LinkedIn's CEO. Roslansky will report directly to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and join Microsoft's leadership.

3. President of China

Lu Jian joined LinkedIn in April 2018 and is currently the President of LinkedIn China, responsible for the business and R&D of LinkedIn China.

10. Entering China

On February 24, 2014, LinkedIn launched a new simplified Chinese beta version and officially adopted its Chinese name - "Lingying", aiming to provide better localized services for Chinese users. At the same time, LinkedIn, Sequoia China and Broadband Capital established a joint venture to jointly explore business development in China.

Shen Boyang, the former founder of Nuomi.com, has been appointed as LinkedIn's global vice president and president of China, reporting directly to LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner.

In April 2018, Lu Jian joined LinkedIn and is currently the President of LinkedIn China, responsible for the business and R&D of LinkedIn China.

1. China website launched

On February 25, 2014, the simplified Chinese beta version of LinkedIn was officially launched. On March 6, 2014, LinkedIn opened for registration.

2. LinkedIn influence

On May 23 and 25, 2014, LinkedIn held its first offline exchange event since entering China in Beijing and Shanghai respectively - LinkedIn Influence. The theme of the first series was "Venture Capital Thinking Looking at Opportunities in China and the West".

LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn China president Boyang Shen, Sequoia Capital founding and managing partner Neil Shen, and CEIBS president Zhu Xiaoming participated in this influential event as guest speakers and shared their exclusive insights into current business opportunities in China and the West.

3. Speed ​​up the layout of Chinese business

In May 2016, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions (LMS) was officially launched in China to help Chinese companies build their business brands in the global and local markets.

In June 2016, LinkedIn’s Shanghai office was established. This was another milestone in LinkedIn’s strategic layout two years after its entry into China, and it meant that LinkedIn was accelerating the expansion of its local business.

4. The fifth anniversary of entering China

In May 2019, on the occasion of its fifth anniversary in China, LinkedIn China announced that it would shift from workplace social networking to a one-stop career development platform, and launched a strategic upgrade by focusing on three aspects: brand reshaping, product upgrading, and building a workplace ecosystem. Faced with fierce competition in the industry, LinkedIn started with vocational training, focused on online education, and cooperated with local third parties to build a workplace ecosystem. Faced with the rapidly changing Chinese market, LinkedIn used a "one-stop career development platform" to respond to changes and solve the pain points encountered by users in their career development.

5. 50 million

As of May 2020, LinkedIn has more than 50 million users in China.

11. Honors

In December 2018, the "Top 500 World Brands 2018" compiled by the World Brand Lab was announced, ranking 112th.

In October 2019, Interbrand ranked it 98th in the world’s top 100 brands list.

In January 2020, the 2020 list of the world's 500 most valuable brands was released, and LinkedIn ranked 249th.