A popular network for professionals, LinkedIn has managed to monetize its connections through its tremendous reach and power as a complete corporate recruitment platform. It has emerged as the ‘virtual rolodex’ for dynamic business people world over with close to 160 million members (a majority of them in their 30s and above). When you meet someone during a business meeting and if you forget to ask for business card, the most likely way of locating the person is the LinkedIn profile.

Young professionals and online networking

Leveraging its wide and comprehensive network, the site has now created a fast-growing business selling data & app services to worldwide recruiters. In fact, over 50% of its revenues are generated from ‘hiring solutions’. This percentage is only going up every year. According to an estimate, the recruiting industry is already a $120 billion industry. The scenario is quite fragmented (recruiters, recruiting tools, recruiting systems, recruitment consultants, job boards, assessment tools, etc.).

Meanwhile, the company is going down a path for capturing more and more of this lucrative business pie as it continues to build richer data tools in order to help people locate jobs, and vice versa. The company’s acquisition of Slideshare is bound to compliment this strategy. In order to thrive, LinkedIn must not only draw more people (especially younger people), but also fetch more data about each member. Slideshare, the professional sharing avenue for PowerPoint, will help drive this strategy. And once we begin posting our best PowerPoint on it, the LinkedIn profile will become much more valuable.

LinkedIn mobile app exclusively for the Windows Phone

It has also just unveiled a new mobile application exclusively for the Windows Phone targeted at professionals who rely on their devices to stay prepared for their busy work day and to conduct business. ‘LinkedIn for Windows Phone’ will make it easier to have on-the-go access to their professional network plus the rich LinkedIn insights to help them manage their tasks efficiently.

The idea is to allow them to find and engage with millions of professionals irrespective of their location, access quickly a real-time update stream with relevant news and information from vital professional connections, get timely news that impact the business and industry, stay updated with professional groups, look for better opportunities, among other favorite activities.

Capitalizing on its metro-style design, the new LinkedIn app in the Windows Phone marketplace makes sure that users can easily access the relevant professional information from LinkedIn. In some cases (companies and jobs), the Windows Phone app will offer even more efficient functionality. An official post explains:

“At LinkedIn, we believe in helping professionals everywhere to be great at what they do. With the release of Windows Phone, we are now making it possible for even more professionals to gather the important insights they need to make smarter business.”

SlideShare and LinkedIn over the past few years have been collaborating to help professionals get more productive through the content that they create and share on latter. This acquisition means several good things to all professionals as presentations are a key element of how they define, cultivate and brand their identity.