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News Corp May Acquire LinkedIn

By November 29, 2007July 30th, 2023One Comment

A post on the popular TechCrunch UK blog indicated that a possible takeover of the fast growing social network, LinkedIn, by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp may be in the pipeline.

So what does News Corp gain with this acquisition? If the rumors are substantiated, this acquisition could be used to retain and regain both users as well as readers. This is possible through an integrated incorporation of news content in LinkedIn and layering its network’s features on the online site of Wall Street Journal. The declining business classifieds of Wall Street Journal and its other newspapers can also be bolstered by this acquisition. News Corp’s move has quite an advertising potential.

News Corp is recently attracting marketers with the launch of more in house ad network tools through its acquisition of MySpace.

Social networking sites are fast becoming one of the most sought after media distribution channels. In this light, the integration of Wall Street Journal and LinkedIn by News Corp can be a positive step forward.

LinkedIn would definitely gain more mainstream attention through this merger. However comparisons are inevitable with that of the acquisition of MySpace. To begin with, LinkedIn users are not as active as those of MySpace and the traffic is less. But on the other hand, the users of LinkedIn belong to a select professional group with steady incomes. All in all, in order to cash on this new acquisition and give some competition to Facebook, News Corp should think of technologically upgrading LinkedIn. A few more social features will be a nice idea, because there might be more potential in a site that offers more than just an educational and professional background of a person.