Twitter is Coming to LinkedIn, But Should It?
The New York Times is reporting that Twitter and LinkedIn are joining forces. I can understand LI's incentive for adding tweets, but question whether it's really in their best interest to have tweets like "Time to watch Monk. It's the last season." or "I rode a Greyhound bus once when I was 18 and it taught me to never ride a bus again as long as I live." on what is an otherwise professionally-oriented social network. I mean, really, do we? In my view, this is an oil-water mix.
It's not that LinkedIn should be exempt from Twitter mania, other than that it has set itself up as a site for professionals that is strictly business.
The Times says, "The partnership with LinkedIn affirms Twitter’s role as a network for professional conversation." That would be fine if all we used Twitter for was professional conversation, but you know better than that.
Some questions for you...
1. Will this integration cause us to be more guarded in what we say on Twitter? Will we be less open to casual conversation?
2. Does this signal a shift in the way we view Twitter, seeing it even more as a tool for business-oriented conversations? Has Twitter grown up, so to speak?
Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn’s chief executive, said that he wants "LinkedIn to be the hub for all professional conversation," according to the Times article. That's fine, so long as he is willing to accept everything else that comes with it, including what I had for dinner!
What do you think? Is Twitter appropriate for a social network like LinkedIn?
