TMCnews Featured Article
August 04, 2010
LinkedIn to Acquire mSpoke to Enhance Relevant Content
By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor
LinkedIn has announced its intention to acquire mSpoke. The professional network company wants to take advantage of mSpoke’s expertise in making media more relevant through their recommendation technology. mSpoke provides offerings for content publishers, research analysts and individuals.
"mSpoke and LinkedIn's shared focus on generating relevant content make this acquisition a natural fit for us," says Jeff Weiner, chief executive officer of LinkedIn, in a statement. "We're actively investing in solutions that help deliver valuable professional insights to LinkedIn members. The addition, mSpoke's talented team of technologists make it an even more compelling opportunity for LinkedIn."
Based in Pittsburgh, mSpoke was founded by CEO Sean Ammirati, board chairman Dave Mawhinney and chief technology officer Dean Thompson. Seed investor and board member Ed Engler also played a part in the company’s beginning. The key players in the company have deep ties with Carnegie Mellon University, considered a leader in advanced computer science technologies.
"As we spent time with the LinkedIn team, we were struck by how similar our visions are," said Dean Thompson, one of mSpoke's three co-founders. "Both LinkedIn and mSpoke are passionate about generating relevancy from the rich stream of content being created by our members. We're looking forward to joining the team and helping provide useful recommendations that help professionals tackle problems quickly and more efficiently."
While the two companies are considered a natural fit, will this enhancement to the LinkedIn offerings help to secure its place in the professional sector of social networking? The company has significant competition and will have to continue to evolve to stay on top.
In other LinkedIn news, the company was recently featured in a review by Valerie Jennings, entrepreneur and CEO of Jennings Social Media Marketing, who assessed LinkedIn and how to search engine optimize a profile. Jennings recently released a video to highlight the importance of the social networking site.
Jennings said that LinkedIn is outstanding for building a professional network and also helps increase search engine optimization (SEO).
Facetime announced in May that it has added social network compliance and feature controls for Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Designed to help organizations meet regulatory compliance, such as FINRA's Regulatory Notice 10-06 and to aid in the prevention of accidental data leakage, the controls allow posts to be pre-approved, logged and archived or blocked if they do not meet company policy.
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi
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