I usually do not get into to these type of reviews of online applications, but since they play a huge part in Business Networking online and there is a change in the air online for business networking, I thought I would take my shot .
What do you think? Will BranchOut replace LinkedIn’s Job Search? Or, since Job Searching is the core of Business Networking, will BranchOut become another attempt to place yet another wedge between the Old and New schools of business networking? Both are good questions for which only time will provide an answer. For now the bottomline will be..which site brings business to the door through the jobs offered and which site…well…does not? 
There is no doubt the internet has changed the way business is done today. The WWW, with sites like LinkedIn, has opened up doors to businesses previously inaccessible through offline forms of contacts. LinkedIn allows employees as well as executives to share the same platform to support a business’ efforts while remaining in a stand alone secured monitored professional environment. This is not to say LinkedIn does not have some downside. Overall, LinkedIn does offer a productive platform for professionals.
BranchOut Challenges
As is the case with anything involving the internet there is always something being launched in an attempt to improve upon a concept. In this case, the Facebook based application BranchOut leads the charge to make a change in business networking through a rather interesting approach to Job Searching. Will BranchOut make a difference? Obviously it already has. Will it or should it take LinkedIn’s place in the market? I know some in the less socially conforming circles would hope it would, but I seriously don’t think so.
Personally, I like what BranchOut is attempting to do and it is doing a much better job in a few aspects than LinkedIn. On the other hand I am like others, not a big fan of how the app insists on connecting with people I hardly know to create an imaginary inflated network.
The Job search feature is vastly easier to use than LinkedIn and BranchOut does offer more Color than LinkedIn. However, BranchOut has a disadvantage being totally associated with Facebook which could be BranchOut’s Achilles heel.
Being a readily accessible application for the presumably hundreds of millions of people, places and things listed on Facebook is an advantage for BranchOut, but that readily accessibility to a primarily under aged less professional social based network may eventually work against them. There is no doubt for those professionals who are on Facebook that BranchOut makes it convenient to use.
As far as a Job directory BranchOut’s format is much easier to use and is its true advantage. However, something really does not feel right about BranchOut’s insistence of endorsing everyone in your Facebook community. The constant prodding from BranchOut to make endorsements and invitations to join runs on the verge of being a huge Facebook spam machine.
True, times are changing and the more mature demographic is migrating to Facebook, but are they coming to Facebook for professional reasons or because it is where close (real) friends and family reside online? Does having access to a large database of people who are more out to have a Good Time on Facebook produce any business? The answer to that would be yes, if your business is producing a Good Time. For those businesses dealing with the more mundane aspects of real life…well, BranchOut’s association with Facebook’s presumably large database of consumers falls somewhat short of helping those professionals as well.
Again, I still like BranchOut’s spunkiness and visually pleasing layout. It just is unfortunate not everyone finds having their business associated with Facebook as appealing as the promotions for BranchOut want you to believe.
LinkedIn Stability
Now, LinkedIn is not totally the knight in shining armor of online business networking, but LinkdeIn is a solid contender for most professionals. LinkedIn’s image does bring up a question concerning its interest in modernizing. The claim in its membership being older is probably true however, this also generates the question..does it matter? Young or old, the mission most members of LinkedIn have in common for using the site is in its proven record of generating business. From my experience with LinkedIn I do not see a generational gap in the business network, but again, I am not really looking for it like others do.
The advantages LinkedIn has over BranchOut are broad based and as mentioned, proven over time. However, LinkedIn also has some weaknesses as well. Some of its policies are getting outdated quickly. The strength of LinkedIn has always been in its monitoring and enforcement of member’s activities which for many who are more Facebook oriented find too conforming .
The strength of LinkedIn is in its professional membership. 85 Million members are in anybody’s book still a lot of people. It is also a safe bet LinkedIn’s promoted number of members has a higher probability of being accurate and of the membership there is a much higher probability the person listed is a Real Person. The game..if there is a game… played on LinkedIn is not in the amount of connections someone can round up, but in number of quality connections actually made. Those with the Twitter and Facebook mindset who are flooding into LinkedIn with the attitude of ‘More is a Must’ are attempting to change the rules to again make their online existence a popularity contest while LinkedIn has remained to its mission of supporting the adage quality always produces more log term profits than quantity.
There is some merit in actually knowing someone who knows a lot of people, but when the person you get to know really does not know most of his connections then the value of the connection to a large number of those people diminishes. For this, both LinkedIn and BranchOut are guilty of going against this basis of logic. It would be great if those who have thousands of connections actually knew them all and actually had influence over them, but in all probability most who have these large numbers of connections are delusional in thinking that even a small portion are interested in what they offer professionally.
Bottomline:
Who will win the battle for dominancy of the online professional network market? Who can or will service the business network the best? The answer..does it matter? The bottomline to the value of online business networking becomes… which online location is profitable to your business? The purpose of business is to be profitable and if one site produces profitable business more than another then obviously it is the location to belong.
Right now, today, personally and professionally, I have profited from LinkedIn. Will BranchOut produce anything beneficial?..I guess one can only hope, but indications are as long as BranchOut remains tied to Facebook it is highly probable it will not. Of course if Facebook spends off a Business Only platform the game would change. Hummm, maybe that is what is going to take place. I still like BranchOut for how it looks, I am just not putting much weight in it producing any business for many. Boy, do I hope they will prove me wrong.
Let me know how I can help.
