As I stood last night in a London venue full of some of our UK members, I overheard Lou Reed’s musical director deep in conversation with a senior executive from one of the world’s largest financial institutions.
That doesn’t happen every day, I thought.
What it brought home to me was the key reason why there are now more than three million LinkedIn members in the UK. It’s not down to the range of features we offer, the speed at which we innovate, or the number of languages the site is available in. It’s the members and the rich mix of expertise, experience, wisdom and the positive, collaborative attitude that they bring.
Without you, there would be no LinkedIn.
I started with LinkedIn almost two years ago and it’s been quite a ride as we’ve watched the British professional community take to the site with the sort of industrious enthusiasm that typifies the way business is done in this country. Our team in London has grown alongside the membership and, thanks in no small part to the great reception LinkedIn has had in the UK, we’re now looking to further expansion into Europe.
To mark hitting yesterday’s special milestone, one of our co-founders Reid Hoffman made a special trip to the UK to personally thank and celebrate with some our members at a networking event (naturally) in central London last night. As the conversation flowed it was humbling to see the variety of our membership all in one room; from financiers to software developers, journalists to entrepreneurs and public sector figures to marketers, all these and more were represented from young rising stars to established industry leaders and CEOs.
Events such as this allow us to get the immediate first-hand feedback we want from our members on their experience of the site and reaction to recent developments.
They also serve to highlight the main reason for LinkedIn’s success in the UK and around the world. Which is why, if you would indulge me, I want to take this opportunity to thank our members that have helped make LinkedIn such a success in the UK. Three million professionals from every conceivable background and industry with one common aim: to share their knowledge and learn from others so that they might do their job a little better or get a little closer to whatever professional and personal goals they have. Your individual contribution to the LinkedIn community makes it what it is. Thank you!
With the planned site developments and the expanding community, the next few years will be as exciting as the last two. I look forward to celebrating the next milestone with you all and the other professionals we welcome over the coming months and years.
- Topics:
- Europe,
- International
Comments
Thanks for a great event Kevin. I agree the last two years have been quite a ride and I look forward to more of the same!
The planned new site developments are exiting and will enhance the variety of innovative ways business leaders are already finding to benefit from the LinkedIn community. Your introduction and ongoing evolution of LinkedIn groups has been a huge benefit for IoD members. Keep up the development pace please.
Best
Tim
Thanks Kevin for a great party and a special thanks to Reid for making the trip to see us in the UK.
I am already looking forward to the 10 mill party!!
Hello Kevin,
Congratulations for this big milestone in the UK. You and your team totally deserve this. You are by far the most comprehensive business social networking site and I have proved with many customers, colleagues, friends the value of such a site in our day to day job.
I wish the hospitality industry understands this better, but I am working on it…Believe me.
I was actually shocked to hear today that a leading hotel chain has blocked your site to be used by their employees whilst working at their office. It seems that some companies don’t either understand the value of LinkedIN or assimilate the site to the same category where Facebook or MySpace belongs (meaning personal vs.business).
Anyway, I am sure at some point, corporations will understand that banning sites like yours don’t lead anywwhere in the long term.
So when are you reaching the 10 million mark in the UK?
All the best,
Guillaume
Founder & Editor
hotelblogs.net
bonjour,
Il y en à sur le web qui joue au petit malin avec mon pseudo Lunesoleil . Es-ce qu’il est possible de supprimer ce compte qui je pense est de l’usurpation ? merci
Cordialement
Françoise
translation
hello, There is on the Web which plays crafty person with my pseudo Lunesoleil. Es this qu’ it is possible to remove this account which I think is of l’ usurpation? thank you Cordially Lunesoleil
@Lunesoleil- Please contact our Customer Service Group by using the link at the bottom of your home page.
Hello, I am a new LinkedIn user from Europe, and I wish LinkedIn every success with its expansion into the continent. However, I would like to remark that Europeans are privacy-sensitive and tend to take a dim view of not having control over their own data. Personally I was quite upset and flabberghasted to discover that there is NO way to delete received or sent messages from the mail facility! They are apparently just kept forever! This kind of thing will cause a major backlash in Europe, just so you know… even the legality of it may be questionable here. My advice: Let people own their data.
Congrats on your milestone! To all of my freinds at Linkedin.
Hi,
Congratulations Linkedin UK.
I from Brazl. When will be translated Linkedin to portuguese-Brazil?
Tks
Genivaldo OJ
My Blog: http://welcome.com.br
That’s a real cool target amount.Great job! linkedIn.Many Many Congratulations on your achievements.
Keep the spirit alive.
Mio Navman Spirit V505
wow, big achievement from you guys, you made something that was missing on the net – AA+
Interesting article, although I agree with red rocket: not all of these users are making the most of Linkedin.
Any social networking event is beneficial and healthy not only for the individual concerned but for the whole industry as well. Good luck for the expansion and here’s wishing you more years to celebrate.
LinkedIn is a good way of bringing people together especially professionals. You get to see their profiles and interact with them. Good site! It is no wonder it got so many hits.