LinkedIn Carefully Opens Its Network To Outside Apps

LinkedIn, arguably the most business-focused social network on the Web, has opened its network to outside application developers with the intent to help its 30 million members (and counting) better communicate, collaborate, and share information.

Jim Manico, OWASP Global Board Member

October 29, 2008

1 Min Read
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LinkedIn, arguably the most business-focused social network on the Web, has opened its network to outside application developers with the intent to help its 30 million members (and counting) better communicate, collaborate, and share information."Youll be able to work much more closely with your contacts on LinkedIn with tools such as file sharing, project management, business trips and many more," blogs LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.

Among the nine new apps comprising the initial rollout are programs that allow users to share presentations, reading lists, blogs, and travel schedules with colleagues -- all of which the company hopes will get members to use the site for more than just job hunting. Another app provides secure online workspaces, which Patrick Crane, LinkedIn's vice president of marketing, expects will appeal to small and midsize businesses.

ZDnet's Larry Dignan's fave? Company Buzz, which tracks Twitter activity associated with your company. "That application could deliver some real business intelligence," he writes on his blog.

Of note, LinkedIn won't allow just any developer to create a program for its network. Each one must go through an assessment process before an app gets the green light, LinkedIn VP of platform Jamie Templeton told CNET News.

LinkedIn, which last week received $22.7 million in funding and has grown in membership by 25% since Lehman Brothers folded Sept. 15, is still on target to hit its full-year revenue forecast of between $75 million and $100 million, according to Red Herring.

More from LinkedIn's Hoffman, plus the apps' developers:

About the Author

Jim Manico

OWASP Global Board Member

Jim Manico is a Global Board Member for the OWASP foundation where he helps drive the strategic vision for the organization. OWASP's mission is to make software security visible, so that individuals and organizations worldwide can make informed decisions about true software security risks. OWASP's AppSecUSA<https://2015.appsecusa.org/c/> conferences represent the nonprofit's largest outreach efforts to advance its mission of spreading security knowledge, for more information and to register, see here<https://2015.appsecusa.org/c/?page_id=534>. Jim is also the founder of Manicode Security where he trains software developers on secure coding and security engineering. He has a 18 year history building software as a developer and architect. Jim is a frequent speaker on secure software practices and is a member of the JavaOne rockstar speaker community. He is the author of Iron-Clad Java: Building Secure Web Applications<http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Clad-Java-Building-Secure-Applications/dp/0071835881> from McGraw-Hill and founder of Brakeman Pro. Investor/Advisor for Signal Sciences.

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