LinkedIn is solidifying its presence in China. It has just launched and it is beta testing its new, localized website for its Chinese users that uses the Simplified Chinese language. LinkedIn is a professional networking site that is expected to have a bigger growth, since its rival social network companies such as Twitter and Facebook are not allowed in China. The company will still keep its website in English. This is the 22nd localized website of LinkedIn.
A large market
China is the largest Internet market in the world, with over 500 million users. And LinkedIn wants to use the opportunity to create a strong foothold in China. It has just announced that they are establishing a joint venture with China Broadband Capital and Sequoia China to create a connection among the 140 million or more Chinese professionals, as well as with LinkedIn’s global memberships that is currently pegged at 277 million, according to the blog post of Derek Shen, the new LinkedIn President. The company said that they are making it their mission to connect the professionals in the world and build a bigger economic opportunity for everyone.
Government censorship
While the company endorses freedom of expression, they have to abide by the country’s censorship regulations so that they can continue operation in the country. Social media sites have been gaining popularity among the Internet users in China and users are eager to have their opinions heard and shared. This had prompted the government to increase their censorship and scrutiny of such sites.
It has become a case of what is best for the company and its thousands of Chinese users as well as LinkedIn’s company mission. As stated by the chief executive of LinkedIn, Jeff Weiner, their presence in China brought forth difficult questions for the company since they firmly believe in the freedom of expression. But then again, censorship on Internet platforms is a condition for continued operation in the country. Since they do not want to deny the Chinese professionals the opportunity and the bridge to connect with others on a global scale, they have to meet halfway.
Establishing company guidelines
As a result of the executive decision to continue its operation in China, LinkedIn has established their own guidelines in consonance with the censorship requirement in China:
• There will be extended measures to ensure that the data and rights of members are protected.
• They will be using several avenues to let members know of their practices and will remain transparent in its conduct of business in the country.
• The government restrictions on the site’s content will only be implemented according to its required extent and only when needed.
The company though did not specify what type of restrictions they would implement but there are reports citing that the group discussion feature has been taken out in the Chinese language website to prevent censorship.
Successful presence
LinkedIn’s website in English has been available in the country for more than ten years and has established a membership base of four million. For the Chinese language website, it has integrated Sina Weibo, the largest Twitter-like service in China. It will allow users to link to their account in WeChat, a hugely popular service for mobile messaging. However, the CEO is maintaining that their presence in China is still in its “start-up” phase.
Photo credit: Taken by LinkedIn under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Google+
LinkedIn
Email