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LinkedIn Purchase? What is Microsoft Thinking?

June 14, 2016

Microsoft announced the purchase of LinkedIn for a whopping $26.2 BILLION! It must be nice to have a ton of money for a purchase that many are questioning. Long time Microsoft advocate Paul Thurrott doesn't think that Microsoft has learned from its past experiences. I basically see LinkedIn as a huge professional site and the only social media site I participate in. Thurott doesn't get the LinkedIn acquisition either. As he states, "So lets [sic] see. Microsoft is spending four Nokias for a company that will it (sic) treat like Skype. Does that sound like a recipe for success to anyone?"

Perhaps it's all about data. Some think that it's all about getting data about potential subscribers. The Register claims that Microsoft is paying $60 per LinkedIn user. I don't know if that's the right number, but I'm sure it's all about getting some personal insight into potential subscribers in order to solicit money for services. Perhaps the data can be analyzed to see how many fools can be suckered into paying money for services they don't really need or want? Sharon thinks they are buying big data to slice, dice and sell the data to others. It will be fascinating to watch.

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Digital Forensics/Information Security/Information Technology
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