Great
changes are afoot for LinkedIn, the professional office worker’s social network.
It has announced last Wednesday August 24 its plans to significantly expand its
footprint in the fast growing and potentially lucrative online freelance, or
“gig”, job economy. This move is being promoted as an organic shift from
LinkedIn’s original forte as an online platform for regular job-seeking and
company hiring.
According
to Inc., a recent email statement from
LinkedIn has noted on a new trend on the world’s largest workers’ social
networking site. This is a steadily growing number of freelance or gig
professional workers joining the online platform; it has increased up to 50%
over a period of five years. All these freelancers are in the market for gigs
or short-term jobs as well as new leads in online business,stated Linked
spokesperson Kenly Walker. "To ensure we're providing the same type of
value for these independent workers as those in more traditional 9-to-5
professions, we've been piloting ProFinder,a marketplace that connects
consumers with independent service providers,” he added.
As
of its August 24 launch, LinkedIn ProFinder now covers more than 140 service
areas, offering a freelance online marketplace that brings together individual
consumers and small businesses with a wide selection of skilled and dedicated
online freelance professionals ready to provide any short-term service asked
for, whether it be design brainstorming, writing and editing, real estate,
accounting, career coaching and so on.
By
drawing on the massive database of the main LinkedInnetwork, prospective
clients are sure to be able to contract with gig professionals who can take on
any job they have lined up. These freelancers can fill a small business website
with top online content, handle the filing of a client’s taxes, or design
customized and artistic correspondence like wedding invitations and programmes,
all through the connections offered by ProFinder.
While
the full launch was fairly recent, a pilot ProFinder service was tested since
October of the year before, with over 50,000 freelancers for clients to choose
from. Now the official launch brings to bear the might of 450 million
professionals, ProFinder is set to change the landscape of the gig economy.
One
of ProFinder’s biggest draws is that, other than the monetary option to upgrade
to a $60-monthly “Business Plus” plan in order to post an unlimited number of
job proposals, (the default limit is 10) the freelance platform does not get a
take from any money payment exchanged between clients and gig professionals, as
the payment services are off the ProFinder platform.
LinkedIn
stressed in its launch announcement that in light of the growing gig economy,
they want to provide the same type of value for these independent workers as
those in more traditional “9 to 5” professions.
Photo Credit to www.nextavenue.org
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