LinkedIn CEO promises no “electronic hamburgers”

Writing by Brick Marketing on Friday, 12 of October , 2007 at 5:30 pm

The New York Times has an interview today with Dan Nye, CEO of LinkedIn, that is music to most people’s ears.

Yes, he’s rushing to copy the electronic underpinnings of Facebook’s elegant application programming interface, or A.P.I., that allows outside developers to weave their own programs into its site. But because his site is aimed at professionals seeking to network, he wants to keep these add-ons all business, unlike the unrestrained goofiness on Facebook, where programs let you turn your friends into vampires, draw graffiti on their pages, and challenge them to stimulating news quizzes.

Thank goodness. Facebook really damaged their reputation, I feel, with the never-ending silliness of their applications. LinkedIn is about professionalism, so I am glad they plan to keep the brand untainted, as it were.

So LinkedIn will have to approve any company that wants to tap into its system. Mr. Nye says he is looking for two kinds of applications. First, there are deals that enable LinkedIn members to tap into their connections in other places, for example, while using applications like Salesforce.com. Second, some applications will be allowed to add features to LinkedIn’s own site. Mr. Nye offered, as an example, a module connected to a trade show or conference that integrated travel planning and other features.

I am thrilled with this. As I wrote last week, I’ve felt Facebook was diluting their brand, LinkedIn should keep their site as pure as possible, and it sounds like they are on the right track to do just that.

Everyone should really check out this article to see where the business site is heading, and what it holds for all of us and our online reputations.

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Category: Linkedin

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