From conduit to community
Jinfo Blog

21st April 2009

By Tim Buckley Owen

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Yet more evidence – if any were needed – of the morphing of information providers from one-way conduits to community hubs comes now from two information industry veterans: Hoover’s and Martindale-Hubbell. And, as ever, the common factor is the professional networking service LinkedIn. Hoover’s, owned by Dun & Bradstreet, has announced that it is adding contact details for up to 37 million people currently on LinkedIn to its own information on 31 million companies (http://digbig.com/4yqax). Anyone who views a targeted company or person on the Hoover’s site can now also see how many people they’re connected to in that company, and of course view their personal profiles. LexisNexis has been developing its own Martindale-Hubbell Connected professional network for lawyers since last June (see http://www.vivavip.com/go/e15920 for more background). Now launching formally (http://digbig.com/4yqaw), the network has 3,000 direct members plus a handful of professional bodies as alliance partners, but the integration with LinkedIn allows that network to extend informally into potentially millions of further personal connections. Hoover’s and Martindale-Hubbell join other leading information companies that have already negotiated strategic alliances with LinkedIn; OneSource (http://www.vivavip.com/go/e7715) and Lotus (http://www.vivavip.com/go/e15692) are two examples. Hoover’s cites the heightened need to close a deal in the current economic climate, and LexisNexis the opportunities for reaching collaborative solutions to legal and business issues, as reasons for going down the professional networking route. But corporate information professionals have another: profile. If key business decision makers and leading lawyers are going to start investigating who’s who in your company, it’s probably time for you to update your own LinkedIn profile – and sell your expertise for all you’re worth. Diana Nutting adds further detail on using LinkedIn through Hoover's at http://www.vivavip.com/go/e18919.

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