I don't hold out a lot of hope for it. I want it to do well, the platform is quite good. I am just concerned Microsoft will ruin it like they did with Skype, Axapta, windows phone. They need to try something different, forget about trying to lock people into a platform or service and just make it genuinely a fantastic product. 

They have done this before with products like Office, they need that magic again.

read an interesting point of view here

http://www.zdnet.com/article/why-microsoft-just-bought-linkedin-its-all-about-the-data/

and potential integration scenarios

https://ncmedia.azureedge.net/ncmedia/2016/06/msft_announce_160613.pdf

MikeB4: Will Linkedin sink into the Microsoft abyss? Or can it survive. I get a gut feeling that it will get googledone up into Office and disappear.

MS bought Skype and many people abandoned Skype the next day and went to Viber and others. 

The same may happen here....though LinkedIn is probably by far the best known business networking site. Perhaps now we will here of others as people seek alternatives. 

darylblake:

 

They have done this before with products like Office, they need that magic again.

 

MS Office only won because it was easily pirated. 

WordPerfect was THE word processor......but you had to pay for it. It wasn't easily pirated. 

MS Word? "Copy the floppy" was the usual mode of adoption...and millions adopted (stolen) free stuff. Later, no one knew how to use anything else. 

I've never bought Office in 30 years. For me, it was too strong a symbol of corporate predation on corrupt stupid users. 

Linuxluver:

 

MikeB4: Will Linkedin sink into the Microsoft abyss? Or can it survive. I get a gut feeling that it will get googledone up into Office and disappear.

 

MS bought Skype and many people abandoned Skype the next day and went to Viber and others. 

 

The same may happen here....though LinkedIn is probably by far the best known business networking site. Perhaps now we will here of others as people seek alternatives. 

 

I don't recall that happening to Skype at all, what happened is mobile took off, and mobile messaging apps in particular using over the top services, and Skype missed that trend.

BTW LinkedIn using an opensource stack is going to run great on Azure cloud

https://engineering.linkedin.com/open-source

I have never understood how LinkedIn achieved the status it has. It spams, it invades people's private contact lists and it uses virus techniques to spread itself. It has even been prosecuted in the USA for this behaviour. I am a former professional and I have many professional friends and I have been repeatedly infected by LinkedIn because my friends clicked the wrong link (purposely obfuscated) when trying to get rid of the damned thing. It is the only worm that has ever succeeded in penetrating my defences. I hope Microsoft squishes it like they have squished so many other things. Good riddance!

Rikkitic:

 

I have never understood how LinkedIn achieved the status it has. It spams, it invades people's private contact lists and it uses virus techniques to spread itself. It has even been prosecuted in the USA for this behaviour. I am a former professional and I have many professional friends and I have been repeatedly infected by LinkedIn because my friends clicked the wrong link (purposely obfuscated) when trying to get rid of the damned thing. It is the only worm that has ever succeeded in penetrating my defences. I hope Microsoft squishes it like they have squished so many other things. Good riddance!

 

 

Because it is the de-facto business networking tool. Hence people will use it in spite of the crap, because everyone else does.

Interesting move. I am interested to see what happens. Don't expect a mass exodus any time soon.

The real question is why Microsoft would pay that much for data that is available for free on a Romanian FTP server.

Rikkitic:

 

I have never understood how LinkedIn achieved the status it has. It spams, it invades people's private contact lists and it uses virus techniques to spread itself. It has even been prosecuted in the USA for this behaviour. I am a former professional and I have many professional friends and I have been repeatedly infected by LinkedIn because my friends clicked the wrong link (purposely obfuscated) when trying to get rid of the damned thing. It is the only worm that has ever succeeded in penetrating my defences. I hope Microsoft squishes it like they have squished so many other things. Good riddance!

 

Absolutely. I was inveigled into joining by my employer early on, and have regretted it continuously since.  All these people with only first names wanting to link with me -- No.  For my purposes, ResearchGate is so much better.

Microsoft have a history of buying things and making them into lemons. Nokia. Skype (not so bad). And LinkedIn was of limited utility already, I find it fairly useless generally.

timmmay:

 

And LinkedIn was of limited utility already, I find it fairly useless generally.

 

For you. There are plenty of people that use LinkedIn, a LOT. This isn't trying ot be a new facebook, or a Google+, they are firmly targeting business customers and have said as much. Tight integration will add value to existing products like Dynamics and Office 365 - as has been said already.

wasabi2k:

 

timmmay:

 

And LinkedIn was of limited utility already, I find it fairly useless generally.

 

 

For you. There are plenty of people that use LinkedIn, a LOT. This isn't trying ot be a new facebook, or a Google+, they are firmly targeting business customers and have said as much. Tight integration will add value to existing products like Dynamics and Office 365 - as has been said already.

 

In my experience they target anyone and everyone that they harvest from the random address books they succeed in grabbing. There are no selection criteria whatsoever other than whatever they can scoop up in their undiscriminating net.