Josh Sternberg of Digiday recently posted an interesting assessment of LinkedIn, which he dubbed "a sleeping giant of publishing". At the outset, Sternberg makes a case that "the ideal business publisher" would:
- Use a robust platform
- Support direct interactions
- Feature well-known (industry-leading) writers
- Be digitally native, and
- Balance its revenue streams
He goes on to illustrate how LinkedIn meets all of these requirements, in an environment that supports 200 million users and sees 46 million unique visits a month.
I like Sternberg's assessment, and I don't think that LinkedIn is the only digitally native content site that might compete in this realm. One thing that he might consider adding, though: the ability to drive traffic to events.
Much as LinkedIn has fostered thousands of interest groups (many of which have found ways to meet face-to-face on occasion), I think the service could become an effective platform for niche and even larger events. That's an important aspect of how business-to-business publishers work now, and it could use a digital rethink.
