LinkedIn hits 3 million members in the UK
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.