LinkedIn is a free social networking site that is used mainly for professional networking. Created to help you find business opportunities through professional relationships.
Once registered, the site invites you to create your own business profile that can help find and be found. Your profile enables you to create your own contact list of people you know in business. As a user you can invite your business associates to join your list and become, what the site calls, a connection. This easily, a contact network is created. Introducing you to your connections'' list, as well as their connections (known as third degree connections). Thus, enabling you to broaden your own connection list and be linked to many professionals.
This business oriented list can be used to locate potential clients, find jobs and seek out business opportunities recommended in your contact network. As an employer you can post job listings and find potential candidates. As a job seeker, you can go over a hiring manager''s profile and seek mutual contacts that can introduce you.
LinkedIn uses the "gated access approach" , that requires a relationship or preexisting contact intervention in order to contact any professional as well as their explicit consent.
They also participate in the EU Safe Harbor Privacy Framework in order to meet the privacy guidelines of the European Union.
Other features LinkedIn contains include LinkedIn Answers, a free feature; witch allows users to ask questions that are to be answered by the community. The LinkedIn Groups feature, another free feature that enables users to join relevant groups such as professional, industry and alumni groups. A LinkedIn Groups Search is also available, as well as a mobile version of the site in English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese and Japanese.