Michael Arrington at TechCrunch has just reported that LinkedIn has raised another $12.8 million, raising their total take in recent financing to around $26 million.
When LinkedIn went public in December 2006, they were valued at around $200 million, with a revenue in 2006 of about $10 million.
Rumour is that LinkedIn is now valued at around $250 million.
A little while ago, I posted an open suggestion to anyone who was interested that they could send me an email to connect on LinkedIn.
I got a few responses to that suggestion, but after connecting with a few people, most of them then asked what they should do with all of their LinkedIn connections. Good question.
So what is the real value of LinkedIn? Sure, making your profile prettier might be fun for some, but what are you really supposed to do with all those contacts (Guy Kawasaki did come up with 10 ways to use LinkedIn, however)?
LinkedIn sure seems to be the thing to do for anyone in any job that involves information, networking, collaboration or knowledge sharing (yes, which is potentially any job).
And while LinkedIn is certainly making a profit, are they providing real tangible value? I mean, when was the last time you got a job or hired someone through LinkedIn?
It’s starting to seem like everyone under the sun is starting a social networking site. Much like blogs, most sites seem to grow and thrive in a niche — but the question is, are these sites just a fad?
Perhaps if Jobster and Facebook end up hooking up, LinkedIn will have to provide some more innovative ways to use those LinkedIn contacts.
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January 30th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
[...] Lucas McDonnell Asks If LinkedIn Actually Matters - His answer: a definite maybe. LinkedIn sure seems to be the thing to do for anyone in any job that involves information, networking, collaboration or knowledge sharing (yes, which is potentially any job). [...]
January 31st, 2007 at 10:11 am
[...] Does LinkedIn actually matter? [...]
November 9th, 2007 at 10:17 am
Linkedin does not matter, I have only seen that this is a way to keep a track of people generally, but nothing else. But I already know all the people I look up… no benefit at all.
November 22nd, 2007 at 3:00 pm
From a personal standpoint, LinkedIn does matter. And thanks, Lucas!
November 23rd, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Glad I could help out James! It just goes to show that LinkedIn can be a very useful tool after all — just sometimes in unexpected ways!
February 5th, 2008 at 11:12 am
I think hat LinkedIn matters. I use it to keep in touch with people that have changed jobs or have moved to another city.
February 7th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
That’s a really good point actually. LinkedIn is a great way to find people who have moved on from a job — assuming they keep their profile up-to-date. I originally set up a LinkedIn account with an address I never checked, and a few people asked me why I was ignoring their invites — but I had just never seen them. That’s why I now always use a work address, that way I know I’ll check it (and LinkedIn’s very good about not spamming you with a bunch of ‘alerts’).
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:50 am
[...] posted before about the questionable importance of LInkedIn, wondering whether most people actually have that much of a use it (besides being a way of keeping [...]