Is This the Beginning of the End for LinkedIn Groups?

Posted by MattMansfield under Online Marketing
From http://www.mattaboutbusiness.com 4065 days ago
Made Hot by: marketingvalue on March 9, 2013 3:48 am

Find out why LinkedIn groups is beginning to decline as a viable and effective social network for businesses. Is this the beginning of the end for LinkedIn groups?

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Written by zubinkutar
4063 days ago

Hi Matt,

I've blogged about it here

http://www.webtrafficroi.com/good-morning-sunday-richard-branson-on-secrets-to-success/

You can also check the list of Influencers you may want to follow on LinkedIN

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/whoToFollow

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Written by MattMansfield
4063 days ago

Interesting, thanks! I had seen it called thought leaders and have followed a few myself.

Not sure if this will replace groups however. Thought leaders are organized around people, groups around topics, industries and ideas.

-Matt

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Written by zubinkutar
4063 days ago

Its been a while since I visited any of my groups on LinkedIN, with the influencer program being successful, Linkedin will phase out the groups

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Written by MattMansfield
4063 days ago

OK, now I'm really curious - in what context are you speaking about "the influencer program"?

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Written by HeatherStone
4065 days ago

Hi Matt,

As someone who knows first hand the challenge presented in balancing the freedom of networking and interaction that is the life blood of a social community against the need to protect that community from those who would abuse it (I help manage the BizSugar community), I can say that failure to properly maintain this balance is a constant danger. In the end, communities who fail to strike the right balance of control and freedom (think MySpace, Yahoo! Groups, and Digg) generally pay the ultimate price. This said, I would point out that most of these groups (with the possible exception of Yahoo! Groups) failed because of a bizarre series of missteps that generally involved overreactions in both directions. (Remember MySpace's draconian phishing protections that somehow completely failed to prevent the site from descending into spammy oblivion?) There is no simple answer except constant adjustment, modification, and listening to your community. LinkedIn Groups will live or die on its ability to make the right decisions. If they fail, it is comforting to remember that an ultimately superior experience is probably waiting in the wings out there.

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Written by MattMansfield
4064 days ago

Heather,

Thanks as always for your valuable input!

Yep - you're one who would really understand this issue personally!! As BizSugar's moderator, this type of conversation must be an everyday occurrence. :)

I agree with your assertion that a social network will live and die by the decisions it makes. Unfortunately, LinkedIn's draconian decisions have proven incapable of stemming the flood of SPAM and has already prompted a flight to new platforms - Google+ seems to be the one folks have most often mentioned to me.

We'll just have to see what happens here. Whether it's e-mail or social media, SPAM will continue to be a problem that needs to be addresses. The thing I always say about SPAM is this: people do not spend time and energy on things that don't make them money. Like telemarketing and class-3 bulk mailers, SPAM continues to exist because it works, at least to some degree.

One thing is sure: the future promises to be interesting.

-Matt

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