Fri, Jul 1, 2011
Monster Response to LinkedIn API Shut Down
Posted by Matthew Mund
You might have heard about LinkedIn’s recent decision to shut down API access to certain developers, including Monster – earlier this week we launched our BeKnown professional networking app for Facebook. We are disappointed by this decision. Why? It’s not good for LinkedIn users: blocking the API effectively limits LinkedIn members’ ability to import their own profile data or invite their own connections to another environment, whether BeKnown or others.
LinkedIn’s action is especially curious in that the company seems to be acting against its own stated beliefs. Here’s a quote from LinkedIn’s director of corporate communications, Hani Durzy: “At LinkedIn, one of our central principles is that we put our members first. We allow our members to control and manage the information on their profiles. They decide who to connect to and what they should share and consume.”
While this move by LinkedIn creates an inconvenience for their users, BeKnown members will continue to build their networks from all the largest online sites including Facebook, Yahoo, Google and Monster. Users can express their opinions on LinkedIn’s decision to limit portability of their data and connections here.
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12 Responses to “Monster Response to LinkedIn API Shut Down”
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- - 02. Jul, 2011
[...] Vice President of Product Management Matthew Mund posted Monster’s official response to the API shutdown. In it, he says: We are disappointed by this decision. Why? It’s not good for [...]
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2 - - 02. Jul, 2011
[...] een officiele reactie laat Monster weten de maatregel van Linkedin te betreuren. Ze geven toe dat dit het gebruik van de BeKnown-app ernstig [...]
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1 1 - - 02. Jul, 2011
[...] blijkbaar vergeten is te maken. Waardoor ze nu op een zielige manier de vermoorde onschuld spelen, getuige deze huilerige posting van de man die verantwoordelijk is voor BeKnown, Matthew Mund (VP Product Development) : We are [...]
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1 2 - - 03. Jul, 2011
[...] Vice President of Product Management Matthew Mund posted Monster’s official response to the API shutdown. In it, he says: We are disappointed by this decision. Why? It’s not good for [...]
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0 0 - - 04. Jul, 2011
[...] Vice President of Product Management Matthew Mund posted Monster’s official response to the API shutdown. In it, he says: We are disappointed by this decision. Why? It’s not good for [...]
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0 0 - - 05. Jul, 2011
[...] decision to cut off API access to BeKnown and others for terms of service violations. The MonsterThinking blog responded by questioning LinkedIn’s decision to cut off the applications, especially in [...]
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0 0 - - 06. Jul, 2011
[...] reactie is de laatste in een reeks aan die reacties die was gestart met het bericht dat Matthew Mund (VP Product Development bij Monster) de wereld in slingerde op 1 juli op hetzelfde LinkedIn [...]
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0 0 - - 06. Jul, 2011
[...] Vice President of Product Management Matthew Mund posted Monster’s official response to the API shutdown, [...]
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July 2, 2011 at 5:51 PM
Well that’s about as anti-social media as it comes. If we don’t like what you are doing then revoke access. Kinda lame and goes to the heart of their strategy. Would they have done that if they had not just done their IPO? Is this all about shareholders?
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July 3, 2011 at 6:33 AM
LinkedIN is a bit like: Will I guard my data,… will I share,… will I open,… will I close? I am guessing it’s a result of starting a business without a Business Plan. Something I did so many times!
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July 5, 2011 at 12:54 PM
The fundamental question here is “Who owns the data?”. This stance by LinkedIn would indicate that end-users DO NOT if they are unable to access and move things like contacts or recommendations at will. I’d like to see a public discussion in the blogosphere on the LinkedIn ToS as it relates to this question. I think we might find 100 million customers surprised to find that the crowd-sourced data that they have shared is no long theirs.
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July 18, 2011 at 12:34 PM
The fact is that BeKnown will never be as successful or productive at LinkedIn for professional networking, (at least for experienced professionals. LinkedIn is ideal for professional networking and has obtain the respect of professionals world-wide. All applications on Facebook will carry the stigma associated with people updating their dinner plans and similar “Important” shares.
Linkedin has made significant changes this year to improve it system while finding ways to make more money from their site. I feel that they should re-evaluate their stance on this as I don’t see BeKnown as negatively impacting LinkedIn membership.
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