LinkedIn vs. Twitter & Facebook

Everyone seems to forget about LinkedIn due to the massive popularity among other social media networks including Twitter and Facebook. These two social networks have been in control of the marketing and media world, especially in the United States. However, LinkedIn has made the decision to further expand into China. On a side note, Twitter, Facebook, as well as Google are all generally blocked by China's government. As a result of LinkedIn's growing presence in China, LinkedIn has already acquired approximately four million new users. 

The new Chinese-language website aims to broaden the LinkedIn business world. "Our mission is to connect the world's professionals and create greater economic opportunity—and this is a significant step towards achieving that goal,” Derek Shen, LinkedIn’s president of China, wrote in a blog post. In addition, Shen wants to continue upgrading the technological world at the same rate and pace of the business world. Because of China's hands-on government, this could become very difficult. 

Due to China's strict government regulations, censorship will definitely come into play. The company must regulate and censor any content from the users in China. Any information outside of China will not be censored. The creation of the Chinese website makes it much easier for the Chinese government to control the content of their users. Traditional LinkedIn users do not typically or traditionally censor content. However, this massive expansion into a huge business-oriented economy is a major step forward for LinkedIn. 

In my opinion, social media networks like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook all can not only serve as personal profiles, but as well as business profiles, professional portfolios, and any other business-oriented utility. LinkedIn's expansion into China really sets them apart from Twitter and Facebook, especially in the business world. In general, this is LinkedIn's opportunity to finally become the definitive professional publishing platform.

For more information, here's the link to the whole story.
http://qz.com/180755/linkedin-is-doing-what-facebook-google-and-twitter-cant-expanding-in-china/

Job Searching Through Social Media: It's All About Being Professional

          Take a good look at your Twitter profile. Is it private or public? Is your profile picture professional, or are you chugging a bottle of Merlot? Are you tweeting about information that is relevant to your future career, or are you tweeting about how much you drank the night before? These are all questions that you need to ask yourself when job searching. Nowadays, employers are strongly utilizing social media platforms to scope out their future employees. However, will your profile make the cut?

                Steinfield goes into detail about what employers are specifically looking for in an employee, based off of their social media profiles. First and foremost, always make sure that you have an appropriate profile picture on all of your social media platforms. Yes ladies, that means no “duck-face” poses! It has been proven that recruiters are “turned off” when they do not see an “appropriate headshot.” Another biggie is to make sure you’re posting about information that actually matters. For instance, if you’re looking to go into the sports field, you will most likely be posting the latest information about sport teams. Recruiters are interested in your trends, and how you interact with others by using social media.

                Another aspect employers are looking for in their future employees is a thorough Linkedin page. Linkedin is a huge networking site, and should be used whether or not you’re a college student or professional. The amount of connections that you can have on Linkedin is incredible, and you must take full advantage of the opportunity. Not to mention, it’s free! Facebook and Twitter are also not just places to post pictures and videos, but they too are just as important for professional networking. Make sure you’re always following powerful leaders on Twitter that pertain to your field of interest; you never know what could happen. Although, once again, you need to make sure you take the proper privacy precautions if you do not want professionals to see certain photos or posts.

                So remember, the next time you’re about to post a picture/video of yourself “twerking” on the wall with you friends, make sure you remember who your publics are. You never know what professional could be watching. Be smart with everything you do on social media.