Comments on: Why LinkedIn Should Have A Virtual Currency

By: Daniel Lieberman

Daniel Lieberman — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 04:43:12 +0000

That's an interesting idea. Being able to spend LinkedIn virtual currency on premium services seems like it would be a win for everybody. LinkedIn would get more content and more eyeballs, which would allow them to maximise advertising revenue, while the users who get credits would have access to more of the services without shelling out 'real' money. Nice.

By: Mahendra

Mahendra — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:45:02 +0000

Louisemurphy, thanks for adding your thoughts to the discussion! Yes, the thrust of my post was to point to possibilities that can emerge via such a model, not to lay down the specific mechanics of how it can be achieved.

Credits have to give benefit as perceived by LinkedIn users. And I think it is quite possible to devise such incentives.

By: louisemurphy

louisemurphy — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:35:28 +0000

I do agree that the draw for already available premium services wouldn't be much of an attraction to someone who can already easily afford it, but if there were services or options available that could ONLY be obtained by getting enough credits, and it seemed valuable enough to my business I would absolutely go for it. It could be for example a highest contributers page on the front page of linkedin which would increase your own exposure, or some other services. Being able to obtain market data back from other linkedin users sounds like a pretty great idea, one I would definitely want to use, maybe by participating in so many polls or feedback you could earn credit to hold your own. I think Curmudgeon is right in the sense that it has to be seen as something very valuable for the community on linkedin to spend more time doing this.

By: Mahendra

Mahendra — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:06:19 +0000

Thanks for adding your thoughts to the discussion, Curmudgeon. More food for thought…:)

By: Curmudgeon

Curmudgeon — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:43:26 +0000

I suppose my line of thinking is as follows: Most of the benefit in this situation is at the expense of the users (marketing data is more valuable than coupons, and most people are not excited about better targeted marketing). The critical thinking skills we learned provide the tools to realize this and as such most of my demographic is not excited by points and other currency substitutes in relation to tangible goods. Like subsequent posters have mentioned, the most successful virtual currencies are tied to games, but gaming doesn't seem like a good fit for LinkedIn's brand.

By: Mahendra

Mahendra — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:30:41 +0000

Thanks for your comment, Curt.

I think virtual currencies often work more for psychological reasons than financial ones. Wealthy folks still like to accumulate air miles, credit card reward points, and so on as long as they get something beneficial in exchange. Being able to afford something doesn't stop one from looking for bargains!

By: Curt Sampson

Curt Sampson — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:01:58 +0000

If LinkedIn users are relatively wealthy and can already afford to buy whatever they like, what's going to be the attraction of LinkedIn credits to them?

By: Mahendra

Mahendra — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:09:30 +0000

Not sure I get your drift. This will fail because they learnt critical thinking?

Needless to say, incentives should match the audience needs. Free copies to great business book, free tickets to conferences, discounts for travel, the possibilities for user benefits are endless.

By: Curmudgeon

Curmudgeon — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:20:53 +0000

I suspect this will fail BECAUSE the audience of linkedin is so much better educated. Presumably they learned some critical thinking skills in school.