LinkedIn launch their Groups API – is this their Facebook Like moment?

Niall recently wrote about how LinkedIn were turning into Facebook through their introduction of social ads. Well now they’re taking another step in that direction, as they’ve recently announced the launch of their LinkedIn Groups API. This represents a huge opportunity for developers, as it really opens up the possibilities for b2b campaigns within LinkedIn. Previously your only options were really creating groups and networking organically within other groups. But now the possibilities have opened up massively, as developers can use the groups functionality to run third party apps, using functions such as posting new discussions, viewing recent discussions and sending invites to other members within the network.

This has launched initially with Microsoft, who have used the groups API on their Worldwide Partner Conference Site. Within the homepage of the site you can see latest discussions, log in with LinkedIn and also post comments within the group :

The magic Like moment

Through the launch of their groups API, LinkedIn have opened up the opportunities for the site massively, as they’ve taken the experience outside of LinkedIn directly, and allowed it to spread across other platforms. Just like Facebook opened up a whole new avenue for themselves when they introduced the Like button, LinkedIn have done the same with their groups here. There are many sites that have a need to allow their members to connect for b2b networking, but previously your only real option if you wanted to use LinkedIn, was to create a separate group and take your users through to there. This adds another social function for your own site, with dynamic content and engaging features.