How LinkedIn is no Longer a Global Network

• You may have missed the news, but Microsoft is shutting down LinkedIn in China.
• The acceleration of journalists losing their jobs is real as human rights and decency on the internet continues a downward spiral.
• LinkedIn will launch a jobs-only version of the site, called InJobs , later this year.

Let’s be honest, LinkedIn was never going to make it in China. This is an op-ed so feel free to comment below if you agree or don't agree with something. Microsoft's relationship with China is complicated.

However Microsoft will dismantle certain parts of LinkedIn that aren’t profitable or aligned with its own mission statement. What’s the narrative this week? It’s due to censorship. Microsoft will shut down LinkedIn in China as it faces harsher internet censorship in the country. But is that the real story?

We already know many of LinkedIn journalists will be automated with AI that will be able to write the News snippets to currate links to news to retain users on the app. With LinkedIn no longer in China, you cannot even call it a global network any longer. What happens to products that Microsoft acquires? Typically, they die a fiery death. So it begins.

The company will launch a China-specific version of LinkedIn later this year for job searching. But it won’t have LinkedIn’s social media features. Microsoft?purchased LinkedIn for more than $26 billion ?back in 2016. It’s basically turning it into an Ads platform that’s becoming more profitable in the digital transformation reality, another narrative promoted by Microsoft.

Two weeks ago, Microsoft came under heavy scrutiny for its decision to?block the profiles of certain U.S. journalists in China . Microsoft, like Apple, is complying with regional edicts that totally undermine Western values, for profit. You don’t agree at LinkedIn? Let’s just fire your entire side of the platform. Apparently, LinkedIn was the last major U.S. social network still operating in China.

As Alibaba and others become more powerful in the Cloud and in competing services, Western monopolies will of course have a hard time in China. The news comes after a Chinese internet regulator told LinkedIn in March to better moderate its content and gave it a 30-day deadline,?The Wall Street Journal reported ?Thursday. How long can we actually expect Apple and Tesla to thrive in China?

Microsoft has taken a sharp approach to a problem that likely would have only become exacerbated over time; the software giant could choose to either bow to the demands of the Chinese government to limit access of individual profiles it found unacceptable — that journalists were suffering from blocks is not a surprise, given the media environment inside China — or walk. That Microsoft will automate the role of journalists inside LinkedIn is really just inevitable. (their job now is more like editors or curators)

Just a few years later, activity on LinkedIn is not what it once was. Last month, LinkedIn blocked several U.S. journalists in China, citing “prohibited content” in their profiles. The profiles of academics and researchers have also been reportedly?blocked on the platform in China in recent months . Microsoft would prefer to lose a few jobs than face any real wrath from China.

Still it’s a blow for LinkedIn’s brand that claims to be a global network for job seekers. LinkedIn launched in China in 2014 with limited features designed to adhere to stricter internet laws in the country. The new site, called InJobs, will not include a social feed or allow users to share posts or articles.

In a blog post?discussing the news , LinkedIn wrote that the company described its 2014 decision to enter the Chinese market, which meant “adherence to requirements of the Chinese government on Internet platforms” despite it also “strongly support[ing] freedom of expression.” The reality might be that Microsoft is just trimming LinkedIn and will continue to do so. The censorship narrative is very convenient and we’ve seen Microsoft use false narratives before.

What the decision will mean for Microsoft’s relationship with the Chinese market and state is not clear at this juncture. The Chinese Communist Party has been making changes in its domestic cloud market, for example, that could limit its commercial future for foreign companies. Azure must know that its days are numbered in China, as China needs Alibaba, Baidu, Huawei and Tencent to catch up globally to Western monopolies.

LinkedIn’s decision could be viewed through the lens of a possible longer-term decoupling of the tech shop and the nation. Shockingly it’s really about Microsoft dismantling LinkedIn to be what it sees as a viable future, an Ed-Tech company that augments the remote work experience with Teams and other software systems. Products that get acquired by Microsoft never stay the same, it’s only a matter of when not if. We can no longer claim that LinkedIn is a global network.

LinkedIn is a huge cash cow for Microsoft though as a whole. Data?from research firm Statista ?suggests that China is LinkedIn’s third-largest market. In July, Microsoft CEO?Satya Nadella?said LinkedIn contributes about $10 billion in annual revenue. Microsoft?acquired LinkedIn in 2016?for $26.2 billion. LinkedIn doesn’t need to be a global network to be useful for Microsoft but it does need to work with Teams and develop Ed-Tech and professional courses better. It needs to get Ad targeting up to par with other solutions in the B2B Ads space.

LinkedIn was never going to make it in China and has a user retention problem in the rest of the world. As a product, its app is an over complicated mess. It doesn’t even do what it’s supposed to do well.

It’s not well integrated even after five years to Microsoft’s other products. Its recommendation engine in its feed is entirely broken. It pivoted to gimmick style posts that reduced the quality of the information present. In short, LinkedIn is dying. That Microsoft has started to dismantle it in that light isn’t altogether surprising.

Sadly LinkedIn is the last place you can find real business news. Let alone news on LinkedIn itself. How professional is that? Regarding LinkedIn China, in March, LinkedIn was reportedly punished by the Chinese regulator for failing to censor political content, resulting in a suspension of new user registration for 30 days. Other than controversy over censorships,?the platform has been used by Chinese intelligence agencies as a recruitment tool.

LinkedIn senior vice-president Mohak Shroff?blogged: ?"We're facing a significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements in China." That's not all LinkedIn is facing. It's realistically no longer a global network.