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Ask HN: Why isn't there competition to LinkedIn yet?

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Re: Ask HN: Why isn't there competition to LinkedIn yet?

#61

Post by nrhrjrjrjtntbt »

shadowtree wrote: post #48

It's a self-cleaning corporate rolodex. It solved the long running problems of: a) keeping tabs on people across company moves b) a public, standardized CV Its moat is the scale of its network. Very, very hard to replicate, massive cold start problem. It killed business cards! Maybe some AI generated thingy can attack it, akin to Grokipedia vs Wikipedia, but man is that unproven. Zero incentive for users to switch.

It will probably get displaced but it will take another 20 years of enshittification and a new generation thinking differently.

But it is more sticky than say a social network like FB. Why? You cant split by age. Make a hip Linkedin but the older people you want to impress, work for or sell to wont be there.

Re: Ask HN: Why isn't there competition to LinkedIn yet?

#62

Post by nrhrjrjrjtntbt »

mvkel wrote: post #17

Like any new social network, the first question to answer is: how do you make it useful -without- the social layer? Instagram did photo filters. LinkedIn did digital résumés. Strava did activity tracking. It's not zero sum. But if you're going to replace LinkedIn, you need to ask yourself: why would someone want a -new- digital résumé? By the way, these things already exist, albeit in a more niche capacity, which is…

Linkedin will have 95% of your colleagues. For normies is it so sticky and useful (I feel Twitter is best for well connected people and Github more for working on FOSS with others and if you dont you wont connect).

Re: Ask HN: Why isn't there competition to LinkedIn yet?

#63

Post by tucaz »

theturtletalks wrote: post #49
Aurornis wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The core problem that LinkedIn solves has nothing to do with all the "social media" style content that plagues the platform. I feel like a broken record explaining this to people. The feed that appears when you go to LinkedIn.com is a sideshow. Almost nobody posts to it. Very few people read it. You can (and should!) ignore it and not miss out on anything. Make a profile. Update it occasionally when you're job sear…

We need a better model. Platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram shouldn't own your content. They should just connect to your own personal website. I am building an open-source system where everyone hosts their own site and publishes everything there from short notes, long articles, photos, whatever you want. You can auto-cross-post to those big platforms to keep your reach (Buffer for personal sites), but your site sta…

We are about to see what happens when this is reality. 2025 law from Utah goes effective in July 2026 if I’m not mistaken and requires data portability between platforms.

https://le.utah.gov/~2025/bills/static/HB0418.html

I’m curious to see impact, adoption, side effects, etc.

Re: Ask HN: Why isn't there competition to LinkedIn yet?

#64

Post by lilelvis83 »

smoody07 wrote: post #35

Why is there strong competition for every other social media site? This seems to come down to a few market dynamics: 1. The major influencers who adopt it and bring their followers 2. New networks bring new leaderboards which attract the next generation that has zero equity on the existing sites 3. Regular engagement is critical, otherwise every network faces a death spiral 4. Engagement required to drive ad revenue…

There is actually a LinkedIn competitor being developed. I know the founders of a company building a professional networking and business intelligence platform centered on verified skills & identity, and reputation. It has features that will entice individuals and organizations to move away from LinkedIn. It would be a great company to invest in.
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