The Business Web 2.0
As CEO of business-based social networking site WeCanDo.BIZ, read my take on the role Web 2.0 technologies can play helping businesses to grow.
Wednesday 23 July 2008, 12:10 PM
European LinkedIn rival XING triples its earnings
XING AG, professional network LinkedIn's strongest rival in Europe, has reported its half year results and they show phenomenal growth -- great news for business focused social networks in the current economic gloom.
Compared to the first six months of 2007, this year saw a near double to a turnover of EUR 15.91 million; earnings (EBITDA) rose nearly three fold to EUR 5.76 million. Total membership rose to 6.14 million members worldwide; a healthy increase of some 1.3 million, but still some way behind LinkedIn's estimated 23 million globally.
I say estimated, because LinkedIn isn't a public company so has no obligation (or necessarily interest) in publishing equivalent levels of detail. Which is a shame, as one of the most interesting trends XING revealed in their accounts was that two other revenue streams have been added to premium subscriptions over the past three quarters, one of them being e-commerce of which the majority of activity is job listings in the XING Marketplace (there were 2.46 million clicks on jobs during the reported period).
I have long asserted that LinkedIn and XING are of most interest to people looking to hire or be hired first and foremost and the above statistic goes some way to showing that I may be on to something. With profiles that most closely resemble CVs than product or service portfolios, these two sites seem to represent the interests of individuals better than they do the companies they represent. Unless those companies are recruitment specialists, of course, which is where I would guess a not insignificant proportion of the premium subscriptions come from.
Are there any readers who are members of either and actually doing business on these sites, rather than just talking jobs?
Ian Hendry
WeCanDo.BIZ
http://www.wecando.biz
PreviousComments on this post
Here are some of LinkedIn's company blogs on people who are using the site beyond the job space:
FIlmmakers
http://blog.linkedin.com/blog/2008/06/linkedin-discov.html
Small business
http://blog.linkedin.com/blog/2008/04/linkedin-user-1.html
Political consultants
http://blog.linkedin.com/blog/2008/04/aapc.html
OK, that proves they are on there, but are they doing business? For a business networking site you would kind of expect a large proportion of the 23 million members to be doing business on there, wouldn't you?
I think LinkedIn is great for catching up with former work colleagues. But if you look at a normal business person's or sales professional's day trying to hit target, not a lot of it is spent tracking down and communicating with former colleagues. What does LinkedIn offer to help me identify prospects, help me engage with them and get me endorsed to them by people I trust?
Ian Hendry
WeCanDo.BIZ
http://www.linkedin.com
An interesting articled popped up today which reinforces my view of LinkedIn as the the largest job marketplace out there.
Recruitment giants Harvey Nash have done a survey which reveals that 90% of senior players are increasingly turning to professional networking sites such as LinkedIn to progress their careers. Most senior executives would look to LinkedIn first (57%) ahead of its rivals when using social networks to find a job.
Most interesting part of the whole survey, however, was the quote from Cristina Hoole, european marketing director at LinkedIn: "As competition in the global job market intensifies, it has become essential for executives, at all levels, to build and strengthen their personal profiles online. Harvey Nash's research reaffirms our own understanding that professional networking sites already play an increasingly important role in helping candidates stay well connected and career-informed."
In LinkedIn's case it does just that, but offers little for those same senior executives, or the myriad small and medium sized business owners, who network online to do business.
I see more evidence each week that LinkedIn has no interested in being an online business network but, instead, a network which benefits indivuduals in business.
Ian Hendry
WeCanDo.BIZ
http://www.wecando.biz
