Linkedin Blog

LinkedIn is proud to be participating in this week’s launch of Open Social, a new set of open APIs to allow developers to easily build and deploy social applications across the web.

As a software developer, small company, or large corporation, you have choices of where to invest your time. How do you get the most return on the time you invest in writing code? The web brought about huge advantages in the platforms you could reach, replacing highly proprietary desktop operating systems. We all flocked to the web. Now, Google does the same with social applications.

Some may view swag as being a unique part of Silicon Valley’s startup culture. But let’s face it, no matter where you work, a little swag goes a long way in building camaraderie, team spirit and your individual brand (much like LinkedIn helps with your professional brand). Starting today, you’ll be able to share the brand experience of LinkedIn whether it be wearing our custom-fitted tees or carrying LinkedIn Gear (ranging from backpacks, ballcaps and more). There’s something for everybody at the LinkedIn Store.

Check out the LinkedIn Store

We’ve just released our first version of a standardized company directory. This directory is a foundational component for enhancing a variety of features on LinkedIn, such as colleague reconnect, company search, and job search. We will also be able to leverage this directory to build brand new features, which will be announced in the coming months.

The directory was built using some high powered analytics and the data that users have provided about their companies. There is a rich database of companies in this release, and we will be gradually adding more companies over time.

I’ve been wanting to publish the following two links on LinkedIn and social networking, but it’s been a busy two days putting together the details for the upcoming LinkedIn Q&A event, featuring Daniel Lyons (Sr. editor at Forbes, faux blogger – “Fake Steve Jobs” and author of “Option$) and Guy Kawasaki (former Apple evangelist and founder at Truemors).

Thus far we’ve received roughly 250 RSVPs and since seating is limited, it may be a good idea to hurry up and RSVP over at event site Upcoming. And, now back to the post.