
Developer Program Transition Guide - charlieirish
https://developer.linkedin.com/support/developer-program-transition
======
unwind
This is basically a dupe of
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9038922](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9038922).

------
chris_wot
This is what happens when you tie yourself to someone else's platform. Didn't
people learn from Twitter and Facebook?

~~~
vdaniuk
The problem is that Linkedin is the best source of data about edges and nodes
of professional networks. There was and there is no mass-market alternative.
So if you wanted to make an application using professional graph data there
was no alternative.

As a long-term linkedin member, I never liked the company. They simply don't
care about their users.

~~~
jtokoph
I'd argue that at this point we aren't LinkedIn's users anymore. Recruiters
and HR are their users. We are just the data set.

~~~
vdaniuk
While we are able to act on our free(arguably) will in the confinement of the
linkedin walled garden, we are still users. Used and abused(heh) users, but
nevertheless.

I wonder who will be the linkedin killer. I certainly would like to see a
decentralized network of websites with each project maximizing value for its
customer segment, freeing that audience from linkedin choke. There is so much
innovation lying dormant in the professional graphs, I can't believe we are
stuck in this incredibly inefficient local optima.

------
gumby
I learned about the API change a few weeks ago from a buddy who works at
LinkedIn. He said the old API was a complete horror ("evolved over a long
period in an uncontrolled fashion") and no longer even matched what was going
on at the back end. I do know a lot of it was flakey.

This friend is a developer and was excited about the change -- I am sure he
had no idea about the terms that marketing attached to the new API and will
have to see what he thinks. I also wonder what the company is really trying to
do by being so restrictive.

Linkedin has never really made a lot of sense to me as a business -- I use it
to look people up before meeting with them to see what we might have in
common, but apart from that I don't understand how they function. But the
people I know who work there seem fanatical about it, and they do rake in a
lot of money.

------
rilita
This just further demonstrates the need for an open data platform that is not
specific to some specific set of data. That is; a generic system that is user
driven, allowing for varying complex views of standardized data sets.

Such a system would put all of these generic "social sites" out of business
because it could be maintained by the users rather than the greedy data
hoarding companies.

One nitpick: The title on this is not accurate because they are not closing to
individual developers for general API usage, just for specific parts of their
data.

~~~
ryanbrunner
I would say that it's more accurate to say that they're shutting down all
access except for a few extremely narrow use cases.

With this change, essentially the only thing you can do with the LinkedIn API
is post updates, and retrieve information about the logged in user. Easily 95%
of the utility of the API has been removed with this change.

------
plsoucy
Is there anybody we can contact to get clarity on whether a specific use case
will still be allowed (without having to go through their approval process)? I
didn't see any contact listed.

More specifically, they mention that the following endpoint will still be
available: Companies API — /v1/companies/{id}

Will the following call still be permitted?
[https://api.linkedin.com/v1/companies?is-company-
admin=true](https://api.linkedin.com/v1/companies?is-company-admin=true)

~~~
prez
> Will the following call still be permitted?
> [https://api.linkedin.com/v1/companies?is-company-
> admin=true](https://api.linkedin.com/v1/companies?is-company-admin=true)

It's in the new docs, so I guess it's going to stay at least for a while...

[https://developer.linkedin.com/docs/company-
pages#list_compa...](https://developer.linkedin.com/docs/company-
pages#list_companies)

------
kolev
Users should boycott. Or at least developers should do at least. I had a paid
account and I'm not gonna renew. Keeping apps away from my data is not
something I will tolerate. I think LinkedIn needs us more than we need
LinkedIn. The whole "networking" promise of LinkedIn is false - it's mostly
nagging recruiters who can't even read you resume right.

~~~
driverdan
Why would you pay for LinkedIn?

------
supergeek133
Bold move for them. It allows them to more tightly control the experience and
probably generate a stronger internal business case for 3rd party use.

Similar to Netflix, a more closed approach will enable them to make changes to
the API to tightly fit their partners and LinkedIn's desired use cases.

~~~
thesimon
Which wouldn't be possible with a specific endpoint for their partners, while
stil allowing public access?

~~~
bduerst
True, but you would still have third parties giving an experience you wouldn't
be able to control.

I didn't think this was a problem for LinkedIn. They may be trying to ratchet
in the APIs in an attempt to protect their core value, which is user
employment data.

------
vinbreau
Most developers already knew about this I suppose. We just partnered with them
about 4 months ago and have been working closely with them in preparing our
platform for this coming change. It's not news to us.

