LinkedIn 10 years later. Is it more than a digital CV?

LinkedIn just celebrated it’s 10th birthday. 

Back in May of 2003 LinkedIn founders Reid Hoffman, Konstantin Guericke, Allen Blue, Eric Ly and Jean-Luc Vaillant, set the goal of growing a member base to make Linkedin a valuable site for finding and networking with other professionals. Below is an image of the service when it was launched in 2003.

I have to admit that when I joined back in 2006 I thought I was setting up a digital résumé. I initially resisted invitations to join the same way that I ignore all the invites Facebook friends of friends send today. For me LinkedIn was essentially the place to go when I needed a job. This is an image of LinkedIn in 2004.

The web was a different place back then; Friendster was the hottest site around and web pages were still in black and white… Okay, maybe it wasn’t that long ago. But still many of the features present in LinkedIn today — including Recommendations, InMails, Groups, and Jobs — hadn’t been built in 2004.

Back then I would update my profile, connect with a few colleagues and then abandon the site as soon as I got a job.But, the invites kept coming and it began to make sense to start creating an online network of professionals.

Over the years LinkedIn has become more than a digital CV. The service has transitioned into a daily destination for people that want to read content relevant to their professional life.I look at LinkedIn Today everyday because the content is excellent. To build on that LinkedIn recently purchased the mobile newsreader Pulse. So expect more investments in quality content.

LinkedIn is constantly growing and expanding. They recently upgraded their search technology and revamped the iPhone and Android mobile apps. According to Linkedin’s blog, the site continues to grow at a speed of two members per second.

As for me, LinkedIn has become much more than a digital CV. Six years later I’ve got 500+ connections in my network. I visit and share daily on LinkedIn. My company even advertises on LinkedIn. Imagine that! LinkedIn itself has over 225 million members, more than 3,700 employees and nearly $325 million in revenue according to The Next Web. What will LinkedIn look like 5 years from now? 10 years from now? Only time will tell…

Here are some interesting LinkedIn Stats:

1. There are 225 million registered LinkedIn users worldwide. (Source: Mashable)
2. 64% of LinkedIn members are based outside the US. (Source:LinkedIn)
3. In the UK there are more than 11 million LinkedIn members. (Source: LinkedIn)
4. Two new members sign up on LinkedIn every second. (Source:TechCrunch)
5. 35% of the users access LinkedIn daily. (Source: SocialTimes)
6. More than 2.6 million companies have LinkedIn Company Pages. (Source: LinkedIn)
7. There are more than one million groups on LinkedIn. (Source:LinkedIn)
8. 81% of users belong to at least one group. (Source: Creotivo)
9. 55% of LinkedIn members are female. (Source: Creotivo)
10. There are over 20 million students and recent college graduates, which makes them LinkedIn’s fastest-growing demographic. (Source: LinkedIn)