LinkedIn.com – a social site for professionals – is partnering with CNBC to integrate news and other content. LinkedIn has over 27 million members but until now has had very little community-buildling or social networking features.
Currently on LinkedIn you can email other professionals, ask them questions, and give or get recommendations from people in your network. Now you’ll also be able to share information with them – something that is happening informally anyway.
One way to build up your network is to send relevant news stories, blog posts, or videos that you think they’ll benefit from. With this partnership, that could be easier if the content is on CNBC. On CNBC’s site there is a section devoted to LinkedIn – though right now it’s at the very bottom of the page and it’s a poll. To answer the poll, you must be a member of LinkedIn.
Perhaps the most exiting part of this agreement is that CNBC will broadcast information gathered from LinkedIn on their programs. So the results of surveys will be covered on the news (on tv).
In a blog post about the deal, LinkedIn CEO Dan Nye asked for any ideas, so here’s one. I would use LinkedIn Answers as the basis for new stories or feature articles to cover what’s going on in business.
For example, Jason Alba, CEO of Jibberjobber.com, a site that focuses on building your career through networking, asked his LinkedIn network and community, how they are being personally affected by the economy.
CNBC.com could run a feature article on how the recession is affecting workers and quote from some of the best answers. If you were featured in the article, it should show up somewhere on your LinkedIn profile with a link and recognition that you were quoted in a story. In could help build the reputation of members of LinkedIn, which could in turn help their job searches and careers.
There is a link to today’s poll on CNBC that asks how the economy is affecting job security. It asks: Is your job impacted by current economic conditions? and then it said you must be a registered LinkedIn member to participate.
The poll also shows up on my LinkedIn profile. After voting I can see the results like that men and women answered simliarly that they are either worried or there is no change. However, it clearly shows that professionals over 55 are the most nervous about losing their jobs right now.
Jason says the relationship is especially good for LinkedIn: “This is a great relationship for LinkedIn, as it really helps differentiate the offerings from Facebook and other social networks. LinkedIn has a special userbase, and the CNBC relationship could add valueable content to LinkedIn users as well as get more members from CNBC’s audience. This is a huge win for LinkedIn.” Alba is the author of I’m on LinkedIn — Now What???
I’m sure the relationship will continue to evolve. And if this relationship proves valuable for the LinkedIn community, Jason may need to add another chapter to his book.
