LinkedIn targets 'lead elites'

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"LinkedIn cannot avoid the same tricky political questions that were encountered by other foreign giants. The issue matters a lot because it determines whether LinkedIn can have legitimate status in China," said Xie Wen, a Chinese IT expert and former president of Yahoo China.

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Jeff Weiner, chief executive officer of LinkedIn, confirmed on Tuesday that the company will adhere to China's censorship rules to maintain normal operations in the country.

To learn from previous global players' failures, Xie also pointed out that LinkedIn has to localize thoroughly. "LinkedIn cannot just copy the US model. If foreign high-level management does not know China issues, then just let the Chinese team handle the problems," he said.

In addition, LinkedIn should have enough patience and be willing to keep investing, because it takes time to grow a business, Xie said.

Dong Xu, a Beijing-based analyst, voiced pessimism about LinkedIn's future development in China. "First, Chinese users usually hesitate to pay websites for services, while LinkedIn collects good money from its members overseas," Dong said.

Meanwhile, China does not have a well-developed professional networking environment, she said.

"Chinese people do not separate their social networking activities into some for entertainment and some for professional development. Most of their professional social networking demands are still met offline," Dong said.

There are several existing competitors in China's professional networking market. Jamie Huckabay, chief executive officer of the Shanghai-based ushi.com, a networking system focusing on white-collar professionals, said that the market will benefit from LinkedIn's move in China.

"There are great opportunities in the market as more people find it important to network professionally and more companies use such network systems as agencies to locate the right talent.

"With more players in the market, such as LinkedIn, we actually have more partners to move the industry in the right direction," Huckabay said.

 

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