Unlike Facebook and Groupon which have declined between 50-80% of their share value within 12 months post IPO, the share price of LinkedIn (LNKD) has tripled since its IPO in January 2011, which is a phenomenal return for a shareholder. When the sales rep came to sell me the LinkedIn Recruiter product, I said ‘buy shares now’. If I’m spending thousands a year, the rest of the industry will follow and they haven’t even scraped the surface of potential revenues in Australia. In my opinion, the share price will continue to grow for another couple of years.
So what’s the problem?
OK. So if I’m so madly in love with LinkedIn as an active user, customer and share buying advocate, why would I propose that LinkedIn is becoming Linked-out? By Linked-out (my own made up phrase) I am referring to the fact that I believe that LinkedIn is starting to dwindle in terms of a user’s experience and lose some of its relevance and effectiveness.
When a user experience diminishes, user activity will slow and decline and so will revenue and pricing. Facebook refines itself regularly to keep the data in front of each user as relevant as possible and I feel that many Facebook users are spending the same if not more time on Facebook than ever before. I am sure that LinkedIn will continue to refine itself over time, although here are some of my observations where LinkedIn is becoming Linked-out.
1. The dinosaurs have arrived in droves!
Yes, those late adopters are those people who have just joined and are now adding you on LinkedIn to bulk up on connections. They are late to the party and you can visibly see them playing catch up.
These are the folk that may not have a Facebook profile yet, have never tweeted, and probably still have a fax in their office. It looks like someone appeared in their office and said ‘you guys need to get on board’. They’ve had an internal seminar from one of their Gen Y or Gen X staff and finally they’ve been convinced (or forced). Now they are trying to understand it all and drum up business.
Most of these baby boomers still have PAs that probably do simple tasks that could be outsourced or achieved through the use of technology. These users won’t last. It’s too hard, takes up too much time and they won’t ‘get it’. Ask them in 12 months if they are still active.
2. Information overload
There’s too much going on: profiles, news updates, groups, articles and more. Where to look, what have I missed out on? I never feel as though I’ve done enough.
3. Quality of information in many areas is poor and incorrect
I’m now spending time sifting through trash to find something useful, meaningful and relevant. User generated content is LinkedIn’s best friend and enemy – it’s what has driven growth although it also poses a huge problem.
4. Groups are poor
Yay! Let’s join 50 groups just because we can and it’s free and everyone else has joined them! Follow the crowd mentality is common. I’m yet to have a positive experience as a member of a group, whether an exclusive or non-exclusive group. Self-promotion, useless posts, and ‘quick hit’ requests are common, ie: "I’m selling this – want one?” How can everyone be a member of the same alumni? Tip: Turn off notifications from groups.
Source: http://www.leadingcompany.com.au
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