LinkedIn's Intelligent Application Platform
Several months ago, we announced we are working on APIs and a platform strategy for software developers to integrate with LinkedIn and display their application within LinkedIn. With the OpenSocial announcements, you can now see a lot more about how you can write applications that run inside LinkedIn. So, if you are a developer, what opportunities do you now have?
The Opportunity
There is a compelling opportunity to build on the LinkedIn platform, whether you are trying to augment your application with LinkedIn features or deliver your application into the LinkedIn web site. LinkedIn is a business network of nearly 17 million professionals, growing faster than one million new members per month. And people use LinkedIn for one purpose: to improve the way they do business. Have a great business-focused application? Something that improves productivity? You won’t find a more receptive or larger professional audience than you will at LinkedIn. Using LinkedIn, you will get that productivity application in front of more people faster than any other way on the Internet.
One Platform, Two Uses
The LinkedIn Intelligent Application platform enables two things:
• Bring LinkedIn to your application. Using LinkedIn APIs and widgets, you will be able to integrate LinkedIn into your application by accessing information from a LinkedIn user’s network. Using this model, you can augment your web site with LinkedIn features, creating more utility on your site and the chance to stand out from the crowd.
• Bring your application to LinkedIn. You will be able to write professionally-oriented applications that run inside LinkedIn.com for maximum visibility in a purely business network. We have announced support for Google’s OpenSocial platform and will add other models in the future.
APIs and widgets bring LinkedIn to your application
Over the past months we have been talking to hundreds of partners about how they would like to integrate LinkedIn into their applications. It’s become clear that there is a very strong need to let LinkedIn users take their network with them as they use the web to be more productive. Most every task we do on the web could be augmented by including the help, filter, or aggregate knowledge or our professional network.
So, we will provide a set of REST APIs and widgets that will let you build applications that include your user’s LinkedIn network. For example, when someone comes to your application and authorizes your application to use their LinkedIn account, you’ll be able to use their profile, their network, other LinkedIn profiles, network update feeds, and many other aspects of their LinkedIn account to enrich your application with pure professional networking.
The Open Social platform brings your application to LinkedIn
You will be able to build and run applications inside LinkedIn. We have announced support for Google’s Open Social platform and will include other ways in the future as well. In this model, you’ll be able to create an application that uses your own UI and back end and is augmented with the LinkedIn APIs. These applications will display within the LinkedIn.com web site and will be aware of the current LinkedIn user and his/her network. You’ll be able to create applications that run on user’s home and profile pages and more in the future.
But to leverage this distribution engine, you have to have a business productivity application. We recognize that business people have social lives and there are places for that. LinkedIn will remain focused on improving the productivity of people doing business and we’ll work with people fitting that standard.
Contacting Us
We’ll be phasing all of this in over the coming months and to get involved with the Intelligent Application Platform either for APIs, widgets, or hosted applications, send us an e-mail to developers@linkedin.com telling us what you want to build and what you need to build it.
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Related coverage:
1. WebWare - LinkedIn debuts developer platform, revamps home page
2. Reuters - LinkedIn courts developers, lands Business Week
3. TechCrunch - LinkedIn API and the new homepage drawing near
4. Venture Beat - LinkedIn launches platform, redesign - a better business social network
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Charlie Dec 10, 2007
Well, we really wanted to be the first partner, but I guess we'll have to settle for being #2 or at least in the Top 10. :)
Vincent Dec 10, 2007
Congratulation guys! That's a very good news.
Marshall Kirkpatrick Dec 10, 2007
How active should we believe users will be in their adoption of new social features here if neither blog post on the company blog has any comments left? Perhaps you just haven't moderated any of the comments on this open new social future yet ;)
Chris Byrne Dec 10, 2007
Guys
Well done and about time of course. We would like to add our survey application to Linkedin. Tell me more.
Chris Byrne
huh Dec 10, 2007
how is this announcement different than the one that was made a few weeks ago? isn't this just another announcement saying apis would be available over the next few months?
Terri Wells Dec 10, 2007
It's not always true that "if you build it, they will come," but if developers start building something genuinely useful, users WILL adopt it. A lot will depend on how good the developers who use the API are at writing friendly interfaces -- even "useful" doesn't always trump "this is really a pain to use."
Paul Dec 10, 2007
Where can we find information about developing widgets for LinkedIn?
How are they submitted?
Julian Bond Dec 11, 2007
There's precious little meat here. Are we to understand that these APIs are actually LinkedIn's interpretation of OpenSocial?
Hoping I can get on the beta program.
matt martone Dec 12, 2007
Congrats on the platform. Sounds exciting.
David Melamed Dec 14, 2007
Sounds Fascinating.
For the longest time many industries struggled online due to the lack of viral value in their content. (limited people are interested) Some companies went the comedy route, and found somewhat unrelated content for link-building, etc...
With a marketplace like linkedin, the potential for viral growth in "boring" industries is too exciting to miss out on...
I have over 20 ideas which I would love to see happen...
Simply put,
Social networks create the opportunity to communicate unbundled information to the right people without any of the clutter other communication entails. This is perfect for your demographic, and I would love to get in on the beta for a couple of my ideas.
How can I go about getting in on the beta program, or getting someone already in to develop my concepts?
Ron Newman Dec 14, 2007
Last night I emailed a request for developer access, along with suggestions for API features. This morning I realized that much of what I was describing is contained within OpenID and microformats (microformats.org). Will OpenID and microformats such as hCard, XFN, and rel-tag be a part of this platform?
Mauro Mello Dec 16, 2007
Something I miss a lot, not only in LinkedIn, but in all social/professional network platforms is NETWORK STATISTICS.
What if we could see statistics of our networks -- density, number of clusters/cliques, etc. -- as well as comparisons to averages of the other LinkedIn users' metrics.
It would also be great if there were measures of distances to "flag users", such as Barack Obama, the Dalai Lama, a farmer in Borneo... whoever you fancy. The important thing is to have a measure of the reach of one's network, and to compare it to, say, the average user and the Top-10% users.
Today we don't even know in what decil of network SIZE we are in. Things like "film producers in Cracovia are in your network" aren't really very informative.
These 2 books cover the subject of network metrics in different levels of detail:
Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications (http://www.amazon.com/Social-Network-Analysis-Applications-Structural/dp/0521387078/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197070743&sr=8-1) is the BIBLE on the subject. Covers everything in a very technical level.
Achieving Success Through Social Capital (http://www.amazon.com/Achieving-Success-Through-Social-Capital/dp/0787953091/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197071125&sr=1-5), on the other hand, is VERY introductory, but presents a few usefull network metrics that would be great to begin with.
You guys at LinkedIn are in a privileged position to start "educating the masses" about social networks. I mean: helping us all get familiar with the shape of our own professional networks, how does it compares with others' etc.
Please, help us start seeing this -- as of today -- invisible aspect of reality.
And, of course, congratulations for the wonderful job you have been doing so far.
All the best!
Jon Dec 17, 2007
I have been working on developing a few ways to interface with the LinkedIn online network I have built and these APIs will definatly help. Thanks for listening to the developers groups.
Jon
Jon Dec 17, 2007
I have been working on developing a few ways to interface with the LinkedIn online network I have built and these APIs will definatly help. Thanks for listening to the developers groups.
Jon
Saleem Jan 27, 2008
Is it possible to join the Beta list? I would love to check out the API, it sounds great and provides great opportunity to the users who have built their LinkedIN network.
-Saleem
Brad Feb 13, 2008
I'm eagerly awaiting details on how we can use the "LinkedIn Intelligent Application" platform to improve experience for our users and to drive more usage of LinkedIn.
Sent emails to the developer email box (developers@linkedin.com) 2 weeks ago and haven't received a reply.
Perhaps you are totally swamped with requests. Is there some way I can get someone to send me an email with an update?
Thanks,
Brad
Gurvinder Singh Chhatwal Mar 10, 2008
Hi-
how do we access the API and where can we find more details on the subject. I would appreciate if someone can email with details. gurvinders@cybage.com
Robert Richman Apr 6, 2008
I would love to connect with a developer who can create one of these apps. Please contact me if you're interested, or know of developers.
Online Marketing Maverick Apr 7, 2008
I run several businesses that market predominantly to women, but unlike your post about Home Depot, et. al., I don't take a particularly nurturing/ caretaker market and exploit it. It's a hard market to reach, however. Right now, I'm doing a lot of online marketing (I used Glyphius to help narrow down my sales pitch which has made a big difference). How have you measured your TV appearance in relation to hits and sales?
Yoav Shapira May 3, 2008
Where's the meat? ;) I can't seem to find an API download page, docs, examples, nothing...
Karlo Aquino May 5, 2008
Are there any published terms of usage, or guidelines on API integration yet?
We all have moderate to ambitious intent to sell off something on big social networks, (like LinkedIn), but is this another loophole in which marketers find their way to our inboxes?
Love to see what restrictions and controls will be set up
Mario Sundar May 5, 2008
@marshall kirkpatrick,
I can always be reached at msundar@linkedin.com.
@brad,
And, all others who'd like to know how to connect. Please reach out to developers@linkedin.com. Lucian does check those emails and he or someone from the team will contact you.
@yoav, @gurvinder, @karlo
We haven't yet published those guidelines you ask about. All I can say is please stay tuned to the blog for more details.