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LinkedIn's long-term plan? Build the 'world's first economic graph,' says CEO

"Increasingly, jobs are fragmented. They're not always about full-time," Weiner remarked.
Written by Rachel King, Contributor
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SAN FRANCISCO -- Even with a successful IPO behind it and solid earnings quarter after quarter, LinkedIn still has some ambitious plans in the pipeline.

At TechCrunch Disrupt 2013 on Monday, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner touched upon some of the world's largest social network's strategies around digital publishing as well as facilitating online job training.

But looking forward, it's evident that the Mountain View, Calif.-based company has its sights set higher in a global way.

Weiner described that LinkedIn's current value lies its "professional graph," which explained maps the world's professional connections through profiles and job listings.

The long-term vision for the next decade, he continued, is to develop the world's first "economic graph," or mapping the global economy digitally.

"Increasingly, jobs are fragmented. They're not always about full-time," Weiner reflected. "We'd like there to be a profile for every company in the world."

Weiner highlighted the recent launch of profiles for universities, adding that he would like to see that for every center of higher-learning.

"Increasingly, jobs are fragmented. They're not always about full-time," Weiner reflected. "We'd like there to be a profile for every company in the world."

He also acknowledged the obvious challenges for small business trying to compete with larger business for talent. He stressed that the company profile should represent the vision and culture of a business, and how that company is trying to make a difference within that local community.

When asked by TechCrunch's Eric Eldon about potential competitors (notably Facebook, Salesforce.com and Google) in regards to this economic graph, Weiner avoided dropping any names.

But he responded that there is "no company right now that has the professional focus that we do."

"That doesn't mean we're not focused on the competitive landscape," Weiner said," adding that "there are other social platforms that operate with a more horizontal focus."

Nevertheless, Weiner stressed, "We're going to remain focused exclusively on the professional context."

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