Page 270 - Introduction to Electronic Commerce and Social Commerce

Closing Case: LinkedIn: The Premier Public Business-Oriented Social Network 255

8. Enter the gillin.com/blog and find information related to (b) All join the EC group: (group-digest@LinkedIn.
enterprise applications of social commerce technolo- com). Follow some of the discussions there. Have a
gies. Write a report. joint class presentation on the value of groups at
9. Enter brazen.com/about check the services Brazen pro- LinkedIn.
vides. Compare services to the virtual event hosted at 5. Check the competition in the area of streaming music ser-
expos2.com. vices (e.g., check Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Google). Write
10. Compare what jobserve.com and aspiremediagroup. a report.
net offer regarding solutions for recruitment. Differentiate 6. Yammer, Huddle, Chatter, and Jive Software are cloud-
services to employees from services to employers. Write based social networking services. They are considered very
a report. useful, replacing traditional enterprise tools. Investigate the
11. Identify a difficult business problem. Post the problem issue and write a report.
on linkedin.com and answers.com. Summarize the
results or offers you received to solve the problem.
12. Enter huddle.com and take the interactive demo. (Regis- CLOSING CASE
tration required.) Also, view the video on the main page. LINKEDIN: THE PREMIER PUBLIC BUSINESS-
Write a report on social collaboration activities. ORIENTED SOCIAL NETWORK

Let us look at LinkedIn (linkedin.com), the world’s largest
TEAM ASSIGNMENTS AND PROJECTS professional network. LinkedIn is a global business- oriented
social networking site (has offered in 23 languages), used
1. Assignment for the Opening Case mainly for professional networking. By January 2016, it had
Read the opening case and answer the following ques- about 414 million registered users spanning 200 countries
tions: and territories. By the end of 2016 there were 2.2 million
(a) Describe the drivers of Shift at CEMEX. different groups, each with a special interest. LinkedIn can
(b) Describe its major benefits. be used to find jobs, people, potential clients, service providers,
(c) Relate the case to Collaboration 2.0 and to crowd- subject experts, and other business opportunities. The company
sourcing. became profitable in 2010 with revenue approaching $3 bil-
(d) Enter Garcia et al. (2011) and view the supporting lion in 2016. The company filed for an initial public offering
videos. Prepare a summary of one video. in January 2011, and its stock is one of the best performing
2. The crowdsourcing model works with designers, like this: on the stock market. A major objective of LinkedIn is to
(1) A company outlines an area for which they need a allow registered users to maintain a list of professional con-
design. (2) The company turns the design outline into a tacts (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LinkedIn), i.e., people
competition (e.g., among experts, among amateurs, or with whom they have a relationship. The people in each per-
between amateur and professional designers). (3) A win- son’s network are called connections. Users can invite any-
ner is selected by management, consultants, or by the one, whether he or she is a LinkedIn user or not, to become
crowd. This is done at little cost. a connection. When people join LinkedIn, they create a pro-
(a) If this model becomes widespread, how will it affect file that summarizes their professional accomplishments.
the design industry? This profile makes it easier to be found by recruiters, for-
(b) What is the purpose of the competition? mer colleagues, and others. Members can also meet new
(c) Some believe that amateurs can do the best job. people and find opportunities for collaboration and market-
Others disagree. Find information and discuss. ing. For 2016 statistics about LinkedIn, see expandedram-
(d) Compare this situation to the Polyvore model. Discuss. blings.com/index.php/by-the-numbers-a-few-important-
3. Some consider gamification to be a major social com- linkedin-stats.
merce technology of the future. Enter badgeville.com/ LinkedIn is based on the concept of “degrees of connec-
wiki/External_Resources. Find additional resources. tions.” A contact network consists of a user’s direct connec-
Write a report on the existing and potential applications tions (called first-degree connections), people connected to
of gamification in e-commerce and social commerce. their first-degree connections (called second-degree connec-
4. All students register as members at LinkedIn. tions), and people connected to the second-degree connections
(a) Each team member joins two LinkedIn groups and (called third-degree connections). Degree “icons” appear next
observes their activities. to a contact’s name. The contact network makes it possible for