Microsoft buying LinkedIn, is this a good or bad thing?
There's a lot of commentary of what may happen. LinkedIn could be at the top of its game now, and not much room left before it hits a surface level. The next LinkedIn could be around the corner and lead to its downfall.
Many are claiming LinkedIn is quickly losing its authenticity compared to what it originally was. It's becoming overly commercial and spammers are rampant now unfortunately. Usability isn't crash hot either, so that needs work as it becomes a much more noisy space.
Having more connections than the next doesn't really mean much if there's no substance to them.
Maybe Microsoft can create deeper linking and collaboration between Skype and LinkedIn ? Not sure if that is good for business, but it relates to calling and business contact lists / profiles. Just a blind prediction really.
Jef Lippiatt, Owner at Startup Chucktown
As most social networks that start with a specific focus, they lose sight of the quality of the community (usually for the sake of expanding their profit margins). Let's not forget that Microsoft was / is an early investor in Facebook (which is another network that lost the quality of its original focus).