It may not happen, though. Social networks tend toward natural monopolies. Facebook may have better features and uptime than the next best alternative (or not), but either way, social networks gain most of their utility from all the people on then.
So it's notable that linkedin survived this consolidation. I think this is because people want to keep their business and professional lives distinct. It's actually more than that. There's a comment lower about how Facebook is creepy, and linkedin is pushy. There's a very good reason those are the notable faults identified.
Think of this scenario: a programmer goes to a business meeting with some people form ops and marketing after a conference, and they have lunch or coffee afterwards. Some linkedin invites follow. It might seem a little pushy to some, not to others, but most people (from my observation) wouldn't consider it inappropriate. It's "ok" to be a bit more direct and immediate with business contacts. The same thing with Facebook might seem creepy.
I suspect linkedin or something like it will hang on precisely because it isn't a "social" network.
It may not happen, though. Social networks tend toward natural monopolies. Facebook may have better features and uptime than the next best alternative (or not), but either way, social networks gain most of their utility from all the people on then.
So it's notable that linkedin survived this consolidation. I think this is because people want to keep their business and professional lives distinct. It's actually more than that. There's a comment lower about how Facebook is creepy, and linkedin is pushy. There's a very good reason those are the notable faults identified.
Think of this scenario: a programmer goes to a business meeting with some people form ops and marketing after a conference, and they have lunch or coffee afterwards. Some linkedin invites follow. It might seem a little pushy to some, not to others, but most people (from my observation) wouldn't consider it inappropriate. It's "ok" to be a bit more direct and immediate with business contacts. The same thing with Facebook might seem creepy.
I suspect linkedin or something like it will hang on precisely because it isn't a "social" network.