A professional network service (or, in an

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

context, simply professional network) is a type of

social network service A social networking service or SNS (sometimes called a social networking site) is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, act ...

that focuses on interactions and relationships for business opportunities and career growth, with less emphasis on activities in personal life. A professional network service is used by working individuals, job-seekers, and businesses to establish and maintain professional contacts, to find work or hire employees, share professional achievements, sell or promote services, and stay up-to-date with industry news and trends. According to LinkedIn managing director Clifford Rosenberg in an interview with AAP in 2010, " is is a call to action for professionals to re-address their use of social networks and begin to reap as many rewards from networking professionally as they do personally." Businesses mostly depend on resources and information outside the company and to get what they need, they need to reach out and professionally network with others, such as employees or clients as well as potential opportunities. "Nardi, Whittaker, and Schwarz (2002) point out three main tasks that they believe networkers need to attend to keep a successful professional (intentional) network: building a network, maintaining the network, and activating selected contacts. They stress that networkers need to continue to add new contacts to their network to access as many resources as possible and to maintain their network by staying in touch with their contacts. This is so that the contacts are easy to activate when the networker has work that needs to be done." By using a professional network service, businesses can keep all of their networks up-to-date, and in order, and helps figure out the best way to efficiently get in touch with each of them. A service that can do all that helps relieve some of the stress when trying to get things done. Not all professional network services are online sites that help promote a business. Some services that connect the user to other services that help promote the business other than online sites, such as phone/Internet companies that provide services and companies that specifically are designed to do all of the promoting, online and in person, for a business.

History

In 1997, professional network services started up throughout the world and continue to grow. The first recognizable site to combine all features, such as create profiles, add friends, and search friends, was

SixDegrees.com SixDegrees.com is a social network service website that initially lasted from 1997 to 2000 and was based on the ''Web of Contacts'' model of social networking. It was named after the six degrees of separation concept and allowed users to list fri ...

. According to Boyd and Ellison's article, "Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship", from 1997 to 2001, a number of community tools began supporting various combinations of profiles and publicly articulated Friends. Boyd and Ellison go on to say that the next wave began wit
Ryze.com
in 2001. It was introduced as a new way "to help people leverage their business networks".

Inside the works

Quite a lot of work is put into a professional network service, such as the amount of hours that go into them and the type of people they work for, as well as the business model of it all, such as the professional interaction and the multiple services they deal with.

Types of services

Some professional network services do not only help promote the business, but can also help in connecting to other people. Those services may include a specific phone and/or Internet company or a company that helps to connect with other businesses. According to the Society for New Communications Research (SNCR), there are at least nine online professional networks that are being used.

Professional interaction

Kaplan and Haenlein go on to discuss the five points about using media for companies. They say you need to choose carefully, pick the application or make your own, ensure activity alignment, integrate a media plan, and allow access for all.

Choose carefully

"Choosing the right medium for any given purpose depends on the target group to be reached and the message to be communicated. On one hand, each Social Media application usually attracts a certain group of people and firms should be active wherever their customers are present. On the other hand, there may be situations whereby certain features are necessary to ensure effective communication, and these features are only offered by one specific application."

Ensure activity alignment

"Sometimes you may decide to rely on various Social Media, or a set of different applications within the same group, in order to have the largest possible reach." "Using different contact channels can be a worthwhile and profitable strategy." According to the Society for New Communications Research at Harvard University "the average professional belongs to 3-5 online networks for business use, and LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are among the top used."

Integrate a media plan

Social media and traditional media are "both part of the same: your corporate image" in the customers' eyes.

Allow access for all

"...once the firm has decided to utilize Social Media applications, it is worth checking that all employees may actually access them." According to the SNCR "the convergence of Internet, mobile, and social media has taken significant shape as professionals rely on anywhere access to information, relationships and networks."

Online usage

"Half of respondents report participating in 3 to 5 online professional networks. Another three in ten participate in 6 or more professional networks." "Popular social networks are now being used frequently as Professional Communities. More than nine in ten respondents indicated that they use LinkedIn and half reported using Facebook. Twitter and blogs were frequently listed as 'professional networks'."

Business model

According to Michael Rappa's article, Business models on the web", "a

business model A business model describes how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value,''Business Model Generation'', Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Alan Smith, and 470 practitioners from 45 countries, self-published, 2010 in economic, soci ...

is the method of doing business by which a company can sustain itself – that is, generate

revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive revenue ...

. The business model spells-out how a company makes money by specifying where it is positioned in the

value chain A value chain is a progression of activities that a firm operating in a specific industry performs in order to deliver a valuable product (i.e., good and/or service) to the end customer. The concept comes through business management and was firs ...

." Rappa mentions that there are at least nine basic categories in which a business model can be separated from. Those categories are

brokerage A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither role should be conf ...

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

, infomediary,

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as industr ...

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a rang ...

, affiliate, community,

subscription The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, and ...

, and

utility As a topic of economics, utility is used to model worth or value. Its usage has evolved significantly over time. The term was introduced initially as a measure of pleasure or happiness as part of the theory of utilitarianism by moral philosophe ...

. "...a firm may combine several different models as part of its overall Internet business strategy." At first,

Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professiona ...

started off as a way to mainstream

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

Social impact

When it comes to the social impact that professional network services have on today's society, it has proved to increase activity. According to the SNCR, " ree quarters of respondents rely on professional networks to support business decisions. Reliance has increased for essentially all respondents over the past three years. Younger (20–35) and older professionals (55+) are more active users of social tools than middle aged professionals. There are more people collaborating outside their company wall than within their organizational intranet."

Limitations

Since the internet and social media are a part of this "world where consumers can speak so freely with each other and businesses have increasingly less control over the information available about them in cyberspace", most firms and businesses are uncomfortable with all the freedom. According to Kaplan and Haenlein's article, "Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media", businesses are pushed aside and are only able to sit back and watch as their customers publicly post comments, which may or may not be well-written.

Notes and references

{{Online social networking Social media] Business terms Professional networks