
LinkedIn Tumbles 30% on Earnings Guidance - confiscate
http://techcrunch.com/2016/02/04/linkedin-tumbles-24-on-earnings-guidance/
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overdrivetg
For the life of me I don't understand why Google+ didn't just target
professional use cases and kill these guys. The bar is just soooo low and
makes such strategically obvious sense. Actually, they could still probably do
it - if anyone wants to put me in charge of Google+ for the next 3 years, all
your LinkedIn problems will be over.

~~~
noarchy
Google wanted to take on Facebook. I'd contend that they didn't succeed, and I
suspect most would agree. LinkedIn has a market, but it apparently isn't the
one Google wanted.

Interestingly, there are people posting on Google+ that make for the
occasional, decent content. Far more, certainly, than the awful
"inspirational" memes I see so often on my LinkedIn feed.

~~~
jldugger
> Google wanted to take on Facebook.

Indeed, the internal argument was that Google was blind to all the data within
Facebook, and thus FB would be in a stronger long term position to sell
targeted ads. LinkedIn, in contrast, is already Google indexed. It'd be
difficult to bootstrap their company without exposure, since it's a double
sided social network.

~~~
firebones
But when has Google ever really gone deep and sustainable in a vertical like
this? They don't seem to have staying power in anything that isn't a pure
internet infrastructure essential. LinkedIn doesn't seem to be the kind of
thing they could nail, or would commit to even if they did have some fledgling
success.

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whistlerbrk
I think people within our direct industry tend to look down on LinkedIn but it
seems clear to me that those in sales and b2b find it completely invaluable.
Their interface to me looks haggard and is filled with bugs but I don't expect
this to be anymore than the fluctuations and corrections in the market.

~~~
douche
Does anyone other than slimy recruiters actually use LinkedIn?

Actually curious - I've never had any interactions through the site other than
randos endorsing me for things I know nothing about, and code-sausage-machine
consultants and recruiters sending me emails about positions that don't match
anything in my profile. But it must have somebody out there that uses it, if
they're pulling in 3.6 billion in revenue.

~~~
swalsh
You're a developer, i'm guessing your profile plays that up. Are you expecting
anything other than a recruiter to contact you?

Now imagine you're a buyer for a large furniture retailer, if you have your
profile open, it might not be unusual for a supplier looking to get into
somewhere bigger to contact you.

I've worked with a few sales guys, what they tend to do is use linkedin to
build a tactical map. They then strategically expand their network until they
get close to who they want.

LinkedIn, when used correctly probably won't come in the form of an inMail,
but in the form of a phone call out of the blue from an acquaintance.

~~~
jeffwidman
This. I use LinkedIn all the time to identify who in my network is connected
to the person I'm trying to reach.

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zanewill9
The one year stock graphs for LNKD and TWTR now look remarkably similar (or at
least they will tomorrow when the price is no longer "after market").

That seems surprising to me, all things considered I actually believe LNKD is
a company with real value - TWTR seems far more shaky.

~~~
pyrrhotech
The company is still valued as if it has a whole lot of "real value"\--even
after tonight's precipitous decline, it is valued at $17B to be exact. Based
on its slowing growth in the 30% range, it no longer deserves a unicorn
multiple on its revenue. I think the company provides a useful service and
will succeed in the long term, but there are two pieces to investing--company
prospects and price. I would only buy under $75 which we may see in a coming
bear market.

~~~
buserror
Well, I found several jobs using linkedin, so for me, it works. You have to be
a bit harsh on accepting links with people you don't know, but I can't
complain...

And there's the odd funny joke too -- once I got a job offer for building a
supermarket on the south coast. You know, I'm a 'software architect' after
all, got to know how to build supermarkets...

(well I did participate in projects that looked a lot like oil refineries, to
be fair ;-))

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halayli
Tableau Software Inc down -35.8%

[https://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:DATA](https://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:DATA)

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firebones
Coincidentally--or not--I've noticed a sudden influx of LinkedIn "Add me to
your network" spam tonight before I heard the news.

Did the CFO hit some "dive dive dive!" switch to loosen the filters and avoid
the torpedoes?

~~~
randycupertino
AAwooga! Awooga!! Add this girl you hooked up with at a frat party in 2004 to
your professional network!! Connect with your former sketchy real estate agent
who snorted coke, attempted to feel up your sister in law, and then fell into
the pool at the open house.

I don't know how Linkedin finds these people that I purposely spent the last
decade trying to forget, and why they are so insistent that I connect
professionally with them all.

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buserror
Spooky isn't it? I always wonder how they do it. I'm not on fecebook and all
that, and they still find people I had _completely forgotten about_ from
_completely out of context_ with sometime even zero electronic communication
involved!

~~~
ucho
Not so spooky anymore: [http://www.businessinsider.com/linkedin-settles-class-
action...](http://www.businessinsider.com/linkedin-settles-class-action-
lawsuit-2015-10)

