| The transaction is very clear for linkedin, not so much for facebook. LinkedIn gives recruiters in various companies and consulting industries a way to find passive candidates that they will not be able to find on a job board like dice, mosnter, career builder, etc. Passive candidates are ones that are not really looking, they have the skills that the recruiter is looking for, but candidate needs to be convinced to take another job.Passive recruting tools is a huge need right now, especially for areas and industries with labor and talent shortages, ie high level tech jobs that is being talked about now. So think of how large websites like career builder, monster, the ladders, etc are.They for the most part offer actively looking candidates. Linkedin is the only player offering a database of passive candidates that you can get in contact with, build a relationship with and track. LinkedIn is in control of a segment of a very large market, with a very definsible competitive advantage. They won't be a game changer or the next google, but they will be positioned to make a lot of money in the future. LinkedIn provides a legitimate solution to a legitmate demand and the demand is huge. Also, a lot of the high level tech people i've spoken to do want to keep work and personal life seperate or keep facebook life and linkedin seperate. |