Linked In - coming out ?

Linked In has followed Facesuit and Opened Itself Up for App developers to build delightful stuff for its members....

.......like Zombies and Pokes one wonders?

Probably not....Linked In is the Social Network for Enterprise Folk and is thus more Serious and Mature...so instead inspect more functions for recruiters trying to grasp your contacts and for people you've met once in a bizcard swapfest wanting to be your New Friend.

Now, Matthew Ingram thinks this all competes with Facebook and is not as good:

It’s also good to see the network moving forward, even if most of what it is offering seems a little old (I mean, profile pictures? Come on). But the addition of things like a news aggregator for members and on-site messaging could make it more sticky.

That said, I still think that Facebook has a better value proposition for more people, and a better platform. I think the range of things you can do with and on the site is broader, and I think a site that is strictly business-oriented ignores the fact that people have a range of interests and relationships with their friends that in many cases goes beyond just the corporate (and I think Anne Zelenka of GigaOm agrees).

Actually, Anne says something quite interesting, ie that Linked In functions differently:

LinkedIn, on the other hand, has always been about recording and browsing professional networks, not building those networks. Building the relationships that LinkedIn displays happens elsewhere. Even with features like Answers and Introductions, which provide some person-to-person interaction, LinkedIn is currently more data store than social platform.

From my point of view I think Linked In is better, simply because it has not (yet) invented Beacon, which - in my opinion anyway - is the most rapacious example of privacy abuse that has hit the mainstream internet ever. Anything is marvellous compared to that.

Like Matthew, I think it comes down to demographics - with a few exceptions, my Telco / IT / Business friends and contacts are on Linked In, and my Media and "Web 2.0" friends are on Facebook (and to be honest, this set are the ones who flit from New Thing to New Thing more). In addition it doesn't have the Prep Kid Party feel, it is definitely for grown-ups (or more accurately perhaps people with more mainstream careers), so I'm not sure it competes directly.