Leveraging Social Media in Today's Business Environment

In today’s global business environment, it is more important than ever to maintain an “edge” over competitors. Social media sites present unique opportunities for organizations to do just that. While there are numerous social media venues to choose from, none match the credentials and global presence offered by LinkedIn. We at Team Ethical Leaders firmly believe that Command Decisions Systems and Solutions (CDS2) can achieve a source of competitive advantage in attracting and retaining top talent over its rivals by utilizing a social media site such as LinkedIn. LinkedIn can also serve as a tool for building a sense of community in globally distributed multi-cultural teams (GDMCTs).

LinkedIn was founded in 2002 by five entrepreneurs with its official launch in May, 2003. As of November 2011, LinkedIn is “the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with more than 135 million members in over 200 countries and territories” (LinkedIn, 2011). Listed below are various facts and figures regarding the LinkedIn’s company background, affiliations, and financial metrics.

Company Background

• As of September 30, 2011 (the end of the third quarter), professionals are signing up to join LinkedIn at a rate that is faster than two new members per second.

• The company is publicly held and has a diversified business model with revenues coming from hiring solutions, marketing solutions and premium subscriptions.

LinkedIn Facts

• Fifty-nine percent of LinkedIn members are currently located outside of the United States.

• There were nearly two billion people searches on LinkedIn in 2010. Based on third quarter 2011 metrics, LinkedIn members are on pace to do more than four billion searches on the LinkedIn platform in 2011.

• Headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., LinkedIn also has U.S. offices in Chicago, New York, Omaha and San Francisco. International LinkedIn offices are located in Amsterdam, Bangalore, Delhi, Dublin, London, Melbourne, Milan, Mumbai, Munich, Paris, São Paulo, Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto.

• The company’s management team is comprised of seasoned executives from companies like Yahoo!, Google, Microsoft, TiVo, PayPal and Electronic Arts. The CEO of LinkedIn is Jeff Weiner.

• LinkedIn is currently available in fourteen languages: English, Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish.

• As of September 30, 2011 (the end of the third quarter), LinkedIn has 1,797 full-time employees located all around the globe. LinkedIn started off 2011 with about 1,000 full-time employees located all around the globe, up from around 500 at the beginning of 2010.

Worldwide Membership

• 135m+