1) Equilibrium- In any social networking exchange there must be equilibrium between producers and consumers. Many executives have told me that most of the individuals they have found on LinkedIn are other service providers, not consumers, thus questioning the value-add of the site. This perceived inequality reduces the effective social networking investment rate of return and thus the consistent involvement of the current and future value producers.
2) Visual- We are very much a visual society, yet little to no information is represented graphically on LinkedIn. With the increasing availability of wider bandwidth, and reduced graphic storage costs there should be no reason why LinkedIn could not integrate to a social networking map. Users would be considerably more engaged if they could see their social network on LinkedIn in a much more visibly appealing manner.
3) Quality- One misnomer about LinkedIn is that the sheer size of your network is what matters most, yet when it comes to effective social networking, the single biggest asset is the diversity of your relationships. The more diverse your social network, the broader and more expansive your social networking footprint and thus your sphere of influence.
Another issue is the quality of relationships, and the idea that all relationships are not created equal. Without a systematic approach to identify, categorize and invest in your most valuable relationships at different quality levels, how will a LinkedIn user ever improve their existing relationship bank?
4) Mass collaboration- Social networking has the promise and potential to dramatically evolve business-to-business relationships. LinkedIn must evolve to conversation with more than just connections and recommendations to create real time dialogue. It must evolve into a platform of collaboration.
5) Cross-platform functionality- Until social networking sites realize co-opetition (competitors who can cooperate toward a greater cause or to fight a common enemy) their ability to create greater opportunities and expand visibility and revenue will be limited. Neither, LinkedIn or any other networking tool will truly evolve into a true social networking platform without cross-platform functionality.
Bonus - Mission Critical: The 1-9-90 phenomenon, states that in any social network, only one percent will be the high-value hubs. They are engaged and influential and they bring high-value content. Nine percent will be moderately engaged and not only appreciate but interact in dialogue with the one percent, leaving the other 90 percent to the casual or simple observers. Unless LinkedIn proactively identifies and nurtures strategic relationships with the one percent high-value hubs and realizes the critical nature of the interaction between the one and the nine, it will struggle to sustain the perceived value-add beyond the initial intrigue.
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