What's Going on at LinkedIn? (and Why It's Important for You!)

You’ve probably heard about the recent changes with LinkedIn.
The loss of functionality with Groups.
The loss of functionality with messaging.    
Commercial use limits for searches even if you’re an individual just trying to find a job.  

(See the pattern here?)
Then there’s the growing realization among LinkedIn users that their LinkedIn Publisher content doesn’t get published to all their connections.    
Maybe by the time you read this there may be a few more!
Plus, all these things just seem to happen without any prior notice or discussion.
Poof!
It’s gone or changed!
LinkedIn is the only game in town when it comes to professional networking.
Facebook can’t compete.
Google+ has lost its way.
I’ve always considered LinkedIn to be the cornerstone of the Big Three social media tools for small and medium sized businesses.
Facebook and Twitter being the other two.
The reactions among users are what you would expect.
The Group Moderator Community in LinkedIn is up in arms.
Some are looking for and availing themselves of other options like Facebook.
(I recently learned one of one LinkedIn Group with over 35K members that’s closing down and moving to a Facebook Group.  Clients are asking me to evaluate this option for them.)
Some are wondering if this may even give Google+ another lease on life.
(Google and Facebook may have missed the boat with professional networking but both have considerable resources both human and financial if they decide to come back into the game.)
Now, here’s the key question:
Why is this important for you?
Here’s why:
Think about the potential implications to you of all these changes by LinkedIn.
Will you have to move to a more expensive LinkedIn Premium option that doesn’t even have all that you’ve lost?
What would happen if selected LinkedIn functionality (i.e., Groups) were to go away altogether?
(Albeit, some would argue that this is what’s effectively happened anyway!)
Worst case, what would it mean to you if you lost all your content on LinkedIn or even all your connections?
Like it or not, you have an undue dependency here!
Have I frightened you yet?
Good!
That was my goal with this article.
What are your options here?
Remember this is all part of your social media program.
You could decide to go it alone with your own blog and email list.
You could take advantage of other social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
Or, you could adopt a hybrid strategy which is probably best because then you could spread out your risk.
Just remember, you have to do something and it’s better to prepare and be ready instead of waiting for something to happen to you!
Remember:

1. Evaluate your risks and your options
2. Prepare a contingency plan to deal with these
3. Constantly look for new alternatives that you may need in the future!

That’s it for now!
In the meantime, thank you for following and reading my blog!
I look forward to any and all comments that you may have.  I will reply to any comments made to this blog post as promptly as I can.
Remember!
I do this for a living and if I can be of any assistance to either you or your organization, please feel free to call on me.  Our initial discussion will be of no charge to you.
I can also be reached at conpsweeney@someddi.com.
My Twitter handle is @conpsweeney.
Stay well!