LinkedIn Launches Bahasa Malaysia ‘Apply for Jobs’ Mobile App Feature

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia —3 April 2014—LinkedIn, the world's largest professional networking site with more than 50 million members in Asia, and over one million members in Malaysia, has updated its Bahasa Malaysia mobile application (app), by making it possible for LinkedIn members to apply directly  for jobs that interest them in Bahasa Malaysia from their iOS or Android devices.

The app resolves the challenges of managing and editing resumes on a small screen, by allowing users to apply for jobs  using their LinkedIn profile, without a resume attachment.

Over 30 per cent of members who view jobs on LinkedIn come from mobile, and so the move is to make it easier for a new generation of members to fully complete their job-seeking experience from their mobile devices.

This local language app feature will better support the growing number of Bahasa Malaysia language speaking professionals joining LinkedIn in a digital age, where mobility is key.

The application is also aimed at the HR and Recruitment industry. According to LinkedIn’s Global Recruiting Trends 2013 survey, social professional networks are the second-largest source of quality hires in South East Asia. The updated Bahasa Malaysia app allows talent solutions professionals to reach the best talent – on the go.

LINKEDIN SURVEY REVEALS JOB SATISFACTION IS NO GUARANTEE OF LOYALTY IN MALAYSIA

New report on talent trends both in Malaysia and globally, shows that 58% of candidates claim to be satisfied, yet still actively seek a new job

Opportunities for advancement named as key draw for active job seekers

MALAYSIA, March 6, 2014 – LinkedIn, the world’s largest online professional network with more than 277 million members globally and over one million in Malaysia, today announced the launch of its inaugural Talent Trends 2014 Report. The report provides insights into the attitudes of professionals towards job-seeking, job satisfaction and career evaluation.

The study polled over 18,000 fully-employed professionals in 26 countries, including 570 professionals in Malaysia.

The study found that professionals in Malaysia are a relatively content lot, with 73% reporting that they are satisfied with their current roles. This was in line with the global average, and higher than in countries like Hong Kong (67%) and Japan (65%), but lower than in countries like Indonesia (84%) and Sweden (83%).

However, underlying this picture are some trends which employers might do well to note. Firstly, 50% described their status as only ‘somewhat satisfied’, indicating clear room for improvement. Additionally, more than one out of four (26%) professionals are actively looking for their next role.

Furthermore, passive talent may not be as passive as employers think. At a ratio of more than nine to two, Malaysia had a relatively high ratio of ‘approachable’ passive talent (professionals who are not actively looking for a job, but open to considering opportunities if approached) in relation to ‘super-passives’ (professionals who are completely happy in their current jobs and not interested in new opportunities at all). This was in comparison to a global average of about seven to two. The chart provides a detailed breakdown:

Digging a little deeper, it is unsurprising that active candidates are considerably more dissatisfied than passive candidates at 22% vs 5% respectively. What may be surprising, however, is the high proportion of candidates (58%) who claim to be satisfied in their current roles, yet are actively looking for a job.

Clearly, high levels of job satisfaction are no guarantee of loyalty. No matter how satisfied a candidate is, employers can get their attention by offering a career upgrade.

Top Motivations for Changing Jobs among Malaysian  Professionals: Active vs Passive Candidates
Active candidates	Passive candidates
1.      Opportunities for advancement (40%) 2.      Better compensation and benefits (31%) 3.      Looking for more learning opportunities (28%)	1.      Significantly better compensation and benefits (44%) 2.      Better work/life balance (39%) 3.      Greater opportunities for advancement (28%)

On the flipside, for passive candidates, the least important factor when considering a new job opportunity – for professionals globally as well as in Malaysia – is job title, followed by office location. The active Malaysian candidates, however, rank seeking a better job title and being unhappy with their current team as amongst the least important factors when considering a job.

Across all countries surveyed, professionals agree that the most important factor when picking an employer is the prospective company’s talent brand, that is, whether it is considered a great place to work. This was true for more than half of Malaysia professionals (53%), at just 3% below the global average.

The report also looked at the top things professionals do to stay on top of their career, and found that ongoing career management is the norm. Whether passive or active, almost all professionals engage in some sort of career-advancement activity on a monthly basis. In fact, professionals in Malaysia are the world’s second most conscientious when it comes to keeping their resumes and professional profiles up to date, with 51% reporting having done so in the last month. 45% also engage in professional networking, which is fairly consistent with the global average (47%). Interestingly, it also appeared that head-hunters are well aware that many professionals are open to career opportunities – 44% of respondents in Malaysia reported having been approached by a recruiter in the last month – 5% more than the global average.

LinkedIn crosses 50-million member mark in Asia Pacific

Top industries represented include IT & Services, Banking & Financial Services and Telecommunications Tech companies most followed by members in the region

Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA — 12 February 2014 — LinkedIn, the world’s largest online professional network with over 277 million members globally, today announced that it has crossed 50 million members in the Asia Pacific region.  Nine countries in the region now have over 1 million members - India (24+ million), Australia (5+ million), China (4+ million), Indonesia and the Philippines (2+ million each), Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and New Zealand (1+ million each).

This 50-million member milestone represents nearly a tripling of LinkedIn’s member base in the region from May 2011, when it opened its regional centre in Singapore. In 2013, LinkedIn welcomed more than 7 million new members in India, while 2 million joined the network in Australia and New Zealand. In Southeast Asia, the number of members jumped more than 50 percent to exceed 9 million.

“The strong growth we are seeing in our member base is a great encouragement for us.  We still have much to do in terms of connecting all professionals around the world. Accordingly, we are looking to introduce more features to deliver even more value to our members and customers,” commented Hari Krishnan, MD of LinkedIn Asia Pacific and Japan.

Since 2011, LinkedIn has also added six Asian languages to its offerings to offer a more localised experience for members in these markets.  It also introduced several Asia-based influencers to enrich the professional knowledge on its platform, including top executives such as Tony Fernandes (Group CEO, AirAsia), David Thodey (CEO & Executive Director, Telstra), Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (Chairman &  Managing Director, Biocon) and Nobuyuki Idei (Founder & CEO, Quantum Leaps, and Former Chairman & CEO, Sony).

As its member base continues to grow, LinkedIn was also able to help clients across the region reach out and engage with a broader audience.  These clients include Standard Chartered Bank, AirAsia, SingPost, Lenovo, University of Queensland and Van Heusen.

“Asia is a growth story. As the region increasingly consolidates its position as a key driver of the global economy, our aim is to help professionals and businesses in Asia become even more successful at what they do. Whether it’s expanding professional connections, tapping critical talent or marketing and selling to this influential audience, we’re excited to be able to help connect the dots and create economic opportunities for everyone,” Mr. Krishnan continued.

Some facts about LinkedIn’s 50 million members in Asia Pacific:

Top five companies followed   IBM Hewlett-Packard Accenture Google Tata Consultancy Services
In Singapore Google Standard Chartered Bank Hewlett-Packard Apple Shell   In Malaysia Shell Petronas AirAsia Schlumberger ExxonMobil	In Australia Google Rio Tinto Telstra Commonwealth Bank National Australia Bank   In New Zealand Air New Zealand Fonterra The University of Auckland Telecom New Zealand ANZ	In India Tata Consultancy Services IBM Accenture Hewlett-Packard Infosys In Indonesia Chevron Unilever BP TOTAL Shell	In Hong Kong HSBC Google Cathay Pacific Airways Standard Chartered Bank Apple   In Japan Google IBM DeNA Apple Microsoft

BlackBerry World Top Apps in 2013 in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, 28 January 2014  – BlackBerry, a world leader in mobile communications, has released information on its top downloaded apps across Asia Pacific for 2013 revealing that BlackBerry users are most concerned with productivity and connectivity when it comes to choosing mobile applications.

Social networking is extremely important to BlackBerry users who are constantly trying to keep in touch while on the go with Facebook for BlackBerry 10, being the most in demand app across the region and appearing in either number one or number two slots in almost every market from Malaysia to Singapore and Australia.

The second most popular app across the region was BlackBerry Maps which kept BlackBerry users moving. Other networking apps in the top ten most downloaded list include BBM, LinkedIn, Skype, WhatsApp, WeChat and Twitter. Next to connectivity, BlackBerry users looked for apps to aid their productivity. Apps like Connect to Dropbox, Adobe Reader, Box, Documents To Go, Stocks for BlackBerry 10 and Money Plus featured heavily in the top ten count across the region.
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In 2013, Malaysians got in touch with their inner child through Angry Birds Star Wars, the popular puzzle video game based on the intergalactic Star Wars movie franchise. The app received the highest number of purchase revealing that Malaysians are not just “all work and no play”. Socializing proves to be a top priority for Malaysians with FaceFlow Video Chat unveiled as the number two most adopted app. Priding itself for offering “the best video chat service on BlackBerry”, it’s no surprise that the app is slowly charting its way up the top paid apps list in Malaysia.  

Elsewhere in the region, BlackBerry users showed their national colors by downloading a unique selection of marquee apps outside of the productivity and connectivity category that kept them going throughout the year. One of the few countries in the region to feature a fitness app in the top 15 downloads was Hong Kong who kept fit with Runtastic Pro for BlackBerry 10, and refueled after workouts with OpenRice, the country’s most popular restaurant guide. Filipinos aimed for world domination with Despicable Me: Minion Rush as the 14th most downloaded app of the year.

With passports at the ready, BlackBerry users in Taiwan kept organized with BlackBerry Travel and were prepared for what awaited them when they touched down with BeWeather 10 Pro as the 14th most downloaded overall and 2nd most popular paid apps, respectively.  In Vietnam, BlackBerry devices were used as more than just a productivity tool with people downloading Flashlight Free to light their way. In Thailand, BlackBerry users cast their eyes and their device skyward with StarTracker making it into to the top ten for paid app downloads.

With the wide variety of apps available in BlackBerry World from productivity apps to games, news to social networking apps, BlackBerry users in Malaysia will be spoilt for choice in deciding what to download in 2014.

PageUp People adds Apply Anywhere to recruitment platform to address mobile talent base

Recruiters for multinational firms can now reach candidates on the go inemerging and developed markets

Singapore, 25 July 2013 -- PageUp People, a leading multinational talent management solutions provider, today announced the upcoming integration of mobile-based recruitment solution Apply Anywhere to its unified talent management suite.  Designed to help global organisations reach job applicants  anywhere, anytime  via their mobile devices, the service  makes it easier for companies to engage, attract and recruit talent from multiple touch points.

Available on any kind of mobile device, whether feature phones, smartphones or tablets, Apply Anywhere lets  companies connect with a deeper pool of candidates across levels and job descriptions,  delivering value for  companies that are expanding in  emerging markets where mobile is highly popular.

“Mobile is becoming a critical tool for talent managers particularly in emerging markets where mobile adoption is rising at an unprecedented rate. The best talents out there may not always be sitting in front of a personal computer, but they may very well be checking their mobile phones every five minutes,” said Karen Cariss, CEO of PageUp People.

There were 1.2 billion unique mobile subscribers in the Asia-Pacific region at the end of 2012, according to GSM Association’s recently published report ‘Mobile Economy: Asia Pacific 2013’.

GSMA expects the high growth of mobile in Asia-Pacific to continue over the next few years, estimating 1.9 billion unique mobile subscribers by 2017, which would account for nearly half of the predicted global total of 3.9 billion.

“Some of the world’s top employers such as Accenture, PepsiCo,  and  Orange have already integrated mobile into their recruitment strategies. We expect more global companies, especially in industries like mining, retail, transportation and logistics where talents are frequently on the move or in remote worksites, to follow suit and fully optimise mobile technologies for greater flexibility and reach in talent acquisition,” said Bryce Dunn, Senior Vice President for Global Product Management, PageUp People.

In a market like Singapore, with a high mobile penetration of smartphones, recruiters are going a step further to engage potential candidates who have an affinity for the brand. Smiggle, the world’s hottest stationery brand has even tried QR codes on posters in store to try and boost the numbers of applications. “Being able to apply online at any time is fast, efficient and attracts great talent”, says Marta Newport, Human Resources Manager.

Some of the key features of Apply Anywhere are:

 Mobile Application Forms – which enable candidates to apply for jobs by simply filling in mobile application forms on their smartphones or mobile devices;
 Social Connectivity  – where candidates can apply for jobs, using their social media accounts (Facebook, Linked In, Twitter);
 SMS Apply – where candidates receive job alerts and updates through short messaging service (SMS), by simply subscribing to the service. They can also apply for jobs through text messaging.

Apply  Anywhere is an enhancement to  PageUp People’s  industry-leading  Recruitment Management system which provides secure end-to-end management of the entire recruitment process for large organisations that are operating in multi-markets.  “Apply Anywhere was designed for simplicity, flexibility and efficiency. It can be tailored to the needs of recruiters and to suit conditions in different markets and industries,” Dunn added.

Apply Anywhere is set for launch in Q4 2013.

SOCIAL MEDIA-DRIVEN CSR INITIATIVE FOR A CLEANER KL

KUALA LUMPUR, July 11, 2013 – Social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, LinkedIn or Instagram ensure better success of Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) campaigns as they are able to create broader awareness and, more importantly, drive actions, said Tengku Farith Rithauddeen, Group CEO of SKALI.

“Social media can communicate the results and performance of a CSR campaign in real time allowing key audiences to engage with the company in their own terms and time, as opposed to an annual CSR report that captures only a certain period of time,” added Tengku Farith.

SKALI staff clearing up the rubbish around the ramp leading to DUKE Highway, in front of Menara Sentul, during the gotong royong recently.

Tengku Farith said this during a gotong royong by SKALI staff recently to clean-up the areas surrounding Menara Sentul where their office is situated at.

The event, participated by around 100 staff was the kick-off of SKALI’s one month-long CSR activity called ‘A Cleaner KL’, where the company will respond to reports made by the public via the social media - regarding cleanliness-related issues such as garbage being dumped along roadsides or at bus-stops, etc.

Held as part of the recent World Environment Day celebrations, the campaign would also be collecting as many reusable items as possible to help the local authority in its recycling campaign.

Clearing up the road-side.  SKALI staff cleaning up the rubbish dumped along Jalan Sentul (in front of Menara Sentul) during the gotong royong recently.

“Apart from reporting the situation to us via the designated social media, the public would also need to indicate the GPS (Global Positioning System) coordinates so that we could quickly inform DBKL or any other related agencies for their immediate actions or for us to organise another round of gotong royong if needed be at a later stage,” said Tengku Farith.

A dedicated Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ACleanerKl) and Twitter (@acleanerkl) accounts have been created to allow the public to make their reports and also post photos to make it easier for SKALI and the related authority to access the situation.

“Social media will allow companies to engage with a following of people on a personal level, allowing them to monitor performance and share relevant information on issue related to the CSR campaigns that would allow for expansion and improvement.

“It provides companies with an influential, built-in network of passionate people that become followers of what they are doing and in order to build and keep them involved is by making the social media active, always with updated and transparent information, and deploying a fun, creative way for them to participate and share with their online friends.

“Thus social media should be at the forefront of any CSR campaign strategy as through such social forums, members of the public can feel truly connected and engaged with the CSR efforts,” said Tengku Farith.

Speaking on SKALI’s ‘A Cleaner KL’ initiative, Tengku Farith said that apart from fulfilling its social obligation, the company is executing this to showcase how an IT company is utilizing its social media capability in doing CSR.

“We are looking at covering as many places in Kuala Lumpur as possible and also get as many relevant authorities to be involved.

“We sincerely hope that our contribution will help maintain the good image of Kuala Lumpur and at the same time would appreciate the co-operation of the public to keep the city clean by reporting to us on any uncollected rubbish or dirty areas that need immediate attention,” said Tengku Farith.

社交媒体宣传企业社会责任活动，打造干净的吉隆坡

（吉隆坡12日讯）SKALI集团首席执行员Tengku Farith Rithauddeen指出，社交媒体如面子书、Twitter、优管 (Youtube)、Linkedln和Instagram是现今宣传企业社会责任活动的渠道，皆因社交媒体能够提倡醒觉和鼓催行动。

他指出：“比起公司的企业社会责任活动年度报告，社交媒体能够即时宣导企业社会责任的效果和讯息，让公众更能了解公司。”

Tengku Farith出席了由SKALI集团主办的Menara Sentul和周围地区大扫除运动时，如是指出。

这项大扫除是SKALI集团鼓催长达一个月的“打造干净吉隆坡”活动，获得100名SKALI旗下100名员工参与。该公司透过社交媒体收集公众意见，要求公众呈上公共卫生差强人意的报告，例如垃圾随处可见的马路和巴士车站。

该项活动是配合世界环境日的其中一环，活动也向公众收集可回收用品，协助地方政府的资源回收运动。

“公众除了透过社交媒体提供投诉地点，也需附上全球卫星定位点，方面我们向吉隆坡市政局或相关部门提供资料，采取应对措施，方面我们物色下一个大扫除地点。”

SKALI开设了指定的面子书(https://www.facebook.com/ACleanerKl)和Twitter (@acleanerkl)户口，让公众针对举报投诉，上载照片，方面SKALI和其他政府机构采取行动。

“社交媒体允许企业公司更深一层接触公众，监督表现和提供相关企业社会责任活动资讯，改善和提升这些活动内容和性质。”

“社交媒体让公司发挥影响力，邀请网络跟随者参与活动，提供最新和透明化讯息，打造更有趣的方式，让网友分享这些讯息。”

Tengku Farith说：“社交媒体应该是主导企业社会责任运动的最前线，透过这些社交平台，公众将全程参与企业社会责任运动。”

针对SKALI集团旗下的“打造干净的吉隆坡”，Tengku Farith指出，作为科技公司，SKALI集团履行社会责任之余，也展示如何透过科技善用网络媒体的能力，达致成功的企业社会责任活动。

“我们正在探讨如何将范围扩大至涵盖吉隆坡地区，并且邀请更多地方政府机构参与。”

他说：“我们衷心希望透过这些的活动，打造一个干净的吉隆坡，我们同时也呼吁公众保持城市的清洁和卫生，举报卫生欠佳的地方和垃圾堆积处，以便当局立即采取行动。”

LinkedIn announces 1 million members in Singapore

DBS Bank is most followed local company 
Top industries represented on LinkedIn include IT, Financial Services and Education Management

SINGAPORE — 30 April 2013 — LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network on the internet today announced that its membership base in Singapore has surpassed one million, approximately doubling since 2011 when it established a presence in Singapore. Globally, the site attracts more than two new members every second, and has more than 200 million members worldwide.

With this milestone, LinkedIn is now home to about 70% of the country’s professional labor force and student population . The Singapore market is also the fourth in Southeast Asia that surpassed the 1-millon member mark on LinkedIn, after Malaysia (1+ million), Indonesia and The Philippines (both 1.5+ million each).  Other markets in Asia Pacific with more than a million members include Australia (4+ million), India (19+ million) and China (3+ million).

LinkedIn’s Singapore office serves as the company’s Asia-Pacific headquarters, acting as a nexus for LinkedIn’s regional sales and marketing, member engagement, and strategic regional partnerships. In the past two years, in addition to doubling its membership in Singapore; LinkedIn’s staff count has increased more than tenfold to over 90 employees, reflecting the importance of Singapore as a regional hub supporting the company’s nine other Asia-Pacific offices.

“This milestone is particularly significant for us at LinkedIn because it means that over one million members in Singapore are seeing the value that LinkedIn is adding to their professional lives,” said Hari Krishnan, Managing Director for Asia-Pacific and Japan, LinkedIn. “Singapore is increasingly becoming a regional hub for key industry sectors such as financial services, infocomm and media; as a result, skills, innovation, and productivity improvements are the fundamental pillars for success and economic growth. We see LinkedIn playing a key role in enabling that. Our members are using the network to gain the knowledge and insights they need to do their jobs better every day, through features such as the ability to follow influential global thought leaders and LinkedIn Today, which aggregates news relevant to your industry and network.”

Alongside LinkedIn’s growing penetration of professionals in Singapore, there has been an accompanying demand amongst companies here for LinkedIn’s suite of services, including talent, marketing and sales solutions. The company now has a wide cross-section of clients using LinkedIn, including SingPost, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts and IBM.

“We see the 1 million member milestone in Singapore as a key tipping point.  All the member interactions taking place on LinkedIn form a massive wealth of data; which companies are using to transform the way they hire the right talent, market their brands to the right audience, and sell more effectively,” Krishnan added.

Leading C-suite professionals, senior executives and entrepreneurs in Singapore are also leveraging LinkedIn to boost their professional brand.  Today, LinkedIn also revealed Singapore’s Power Profile list of top-viewed LinkedIn profiles in their industry. The list of over 40 individuals includes:
• Steve Melhuish, CEO, PropertyGuru
• Jason Kuperman, CEO, Omnicom Digital Asia Pacific
• Mark Hall, CEO, Kelly Services Singapore
• Rachel Tan, VP, DBS Bank

Their LinkedIn stories can be viewed at http://www.linkedinpowerprofiles.com/singapore/.

Meet the new LinkedIn Mobile App

LinkedIn today unveiled a brand new Mobile Phone App, re-invented to help professionals stay ahead in their careers – be they road warriors or desk warriors.  The new mobile phone experience makes it easier for members to get the most relevant and timely professional insights, as well as discover and engage with all the great professional discussions taking place on LinkedIn. In the fourth quarter of 2012, an average of 27 percent of unique visiting members to LinkedIn came through mobile apps, versus just 15 percent a year ago.

The new mobile phone experience, available on both the Mobile App as well as mobile web browsers, also has a personalised navigation page for professionals to customize their LinkedIn mobile experience.

New features include:

A richer and more visual stream

A richer and more visual stream is now available to users, with news, updates, original posts from influencers, and more.

The new app also offers easier ways to join and engage in professional conversations by liking and commenting without leaving the update stream.

Personalised navigation page

Users can now enjoy a personalized navigation page to customise their LinkedIn mobile experience, such as adding shortcuts for their favorite tools to stay informed and connected wherever they may work.

New design

The mobile phone experience has been completely redesigned to create better user interaction throughout the app.

Users can now download the new LinkedIn Mobile Phone App on their Android mobile phones and iPhones, as well as check out LinkedIn’s new mobile web experience. It is available in 15 languages, including Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese (Traditional, Simplified).

To learn more about the new features, read the LinkedIn blog post.

LinkedIn reaches 200 million members worldwide

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — January 10, 2013 — LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network on the Internet, announced today that it has reached 200 million members. New members continue to join LinkedIn at a rate of two per second. The company has added more than 13 million members since its last announcement on November 1, 2012.

Since reaching 100 million members in March 2011, LinkedIn has added 13 new languages, making the site available in 19 languages. Today, LinkedIn counts more than 160 million unique monthly visitors and is the 23rd most visited Web property in the world.* Currently, more than 64% of LinkedIn members are located outside the United States. Over 37 million members are in Asia Pacific.

In a blog post (blog.linkedin.com) about the milestone, LinkedIn’s SVP of product & user experience, Deep Nishar, reflects on how the professional network has grown to 200 million members in over 200 countries and territories, and plans for continued growth in the future.

Malaysian Professionals Touting “Motivated,” “Effective” and “Responsible” Get Stung by LinkedIn’s 2012 List of Overused Profile Buzzwords

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — December 17, 2012—  LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network with more than 187 million members, today released the most overused words and phrases in members’ LinkedIn Profiles in Malaysia for 2012.

The most overused buzzword in LinkedIn Profiles globally is “creative,” which ranks fifth on the Malaysia list. Here’s the list of the top nine terms in full that are most prevalent in the profiles of Malaysian-based LinkedIn members:

Motivated
Effective
Responsible
Dynamic
Creative
Analytical
Interpersonal
Organisational
Track record

“Every day potential business partners, clients and employers are searching for professionals on the Web,” said Tara Commerford, Head of Communications - ANZ & SE Asia at LinkedIn. “If you want opportunity to come knocking, you’ve got to make your LinkedIn Profile stand out from the pack. Millions of professionals say they’re ‘creative,’ so set yourself apart by describing and linking to projects you’ve worked on that truly were different, unique and compelling. Pointing to concrete examples of the creative work you’ve done is more convincing than simply stating you are a ‘creative’ professional.”

This is the third year that LinkedIn has issued its buzzwords ranking, and the first year that it has conducted the study in Malaysia. “Creative” was also the top overused buzzword for professionals globally in the 2011 rankings. In LinkedIn’s 2010 study, buzzwords like “extensive experience,” “dynamic,” “motivated” and “innovative” were among the most overused buzzwords in various countries. When LinkedIn released its first buzzwords ranking in 2010, the site had over 85 million professionals. LinkedIn now has more than 187 million professionals and is growing at a rate of approximately two new members per second.

For a global flavour, here are the 2012 No. 1 buzzwords for countries in which LinkedIn fielded this study:

Australia: Creative
Brazil: Experimental
Canada: Creative
Egypt: Multinational
France: Responsible
Germany: Creative
India: Effective
Indonesia: Multinational
Italy: Responsible
Malaysia: Motivated
Netherlands: Creative
New Zealand: Creative
Saudi Arabia: Motivated
Singapore: Creative
South Africa: Motivated
Spain: Specialized
Sweden: Creative
Switzerland: Analytical
United Arab Emirates: Motivated
United Kingdom: Motivated
United States: Creative

If the buzzword bug bit your LinkedIn Profile, here are a few ways you can remove the sting and make your profile sparkle in 2013:

Check out the competition
·         Do a  LinkedIn Advanced People Search for people who live in your postcode and have the same job title as you. We’re often harsher critics of other people’s profiles than we are of our own. By looking at your peers’ LinkedIn Profiles, you’ll get a better sense of what you like and don’t like about each of them. Make sure you incorporate that feedback into your own profile.

Become a magnet for endorsements
·         When you add relevant  LinkedIn Skills & Expertise to your profile, your first-degree connections  can endorse you for those specific skills. You can add up to 50 relevant skills and areas of expertise (like ballet,  iPhone and  global business development) to your profile.

Make heads turn… with a killer professional headline
·         Your  professional headline is one of the first things people see in LinkedIn search results. By default, your professional headline is based on the title you entered for your most recent position, but you can edit it. Think of your professional headline just like the headline of a news article. You want to draw people in and entice them (whether they are potential hiring managers, business partners or clients), so they click through to read the whole story – in this case, your complete LinkedIn Profile. 

Visit the LinkedIn Blog to learn more about LinkedIn’s 2012 buzzwords study and to download the infographic.

Gartner Says Worldwide Social Media Revenue Forecast to Reach $16.9 Billion in 2012

Kuala Lumpur, July 25, 2012 — Global social media revenue is forecast to reach $16.9 billion in 2012, up 43.1 percent from 2011 revenue of $11.8 billion, according to Gartner, Inc.

Advertising is, and will continue to be, the largest contributor to overall social media revenue and is projected to total $8.8 billion in 2012. Social gaming revenue more than doubled between 2010 and 2011 and is expected to reach $6.2 billion in 2012, while revenue from subscriptions is expected to total $278 million this year.

"Usage of online social media has matured, and more than one billion people worldwide will use social networks this year," said Neha Gupta, senior research analyst at Gartner. "Although the number of social media users is large, and in some cases increasingly mature in their usage patterns, the market is still in its early stages from a revenue perspective."

Gartner expects the number of social media users will continue to increase at a moderate pace. New forms of media and entertainment will keep users engaged on social media sites and attract new ones. Rising competition among social media players, each vying for consumers' leisure time and attention, will lead to the rise of new forms of social media (Web based and mobile).

Marketers are allocating a higher percentage of their advertising budget to social networking sites. This is mainly driven by the fact that these sites offer a large pool of engaged users who spend considerable time on these sites — this increases the potential click-through rates (CTRs). Social media sites enable marketers to target ads to discrete consumer segments by unlocking the interconnected data structures of users that include lists of friends, their comments and messages, photos and all their social connections, contact information and associated media.

"Social media sites are becoming more innovative in their ad products to attract marketers," Ms. Gupta said. "Social networking sites should deploy data analytic technologies that interrogate social networks to give marketers a more accurate picture of trends in accordance with consumers' needs and preferences."

Gartner analysts said that social media sites will continue to incorporate gaming techniques on their networks, driven by the monetization opportunities that it presents. The sale of virtual goods will remain the primary source of revenue. Major console gaming publishers have recently entered the social gaming arena and are adding momentum to the social gaming industry by utilizing their intellectual properties. Gartner expects this trend to have a favorable impact on social gaming revenue as consumers are likely to be attracted to familiar gaming titles. Some of the big social developers such as Zynga, GREE and DeNA have moved to an open-platform strategy, enhancing user convenience and choice.

The growth in users paying for professional networking accounts will continue to grow. However, social sites are moving toward lower subscription fees and shifting focus to other sources of revenue, such as advertisement-based sales. This is corroborated by the fact that many of the professional sites (including LinkedIn and Xing) that charge for premium services observed a decline in the subscriptions revenue ratio. Apart from a few exceptions, Gartner continues to see limited success with the premium subscription models.

The sale of virtual goods outside of social gaming is the largest revenue earner in the "other" category. The trend to sell high-value advisory services — such as public relations and reputation management) to brands so that they can better manage their presence on social networks is on the rise and is expected to continue. Payments on social media sites will increase, providing increased revenue opportunities to social media sites to serve as a payment platform for transactions of digital content (to pay for applications, such as part of Facebook), as part of social gaming (for example, FarmVille), or to make a person-to-person (P2P) payment to another user of the network site. New revenue opportunities for social media will also arise as both mobile and TV platforms integrate with social networking as a core service.

"New revenue opportunities will exist in social media, but no new services will be able to bring significant fresh revenue to social media by 2016," said Ms. Gupta. "The biggest impact of growth in social media is on the advertisers. In the short and medium terms, social media sites should deploy data analytic techniques that interrogate social networks to give marketers a more accurate picture of trends about consumers' needs and preferences on a customized basis. In the meantime, however, they should also continue to exploit other channels of revenue like mobile advertising and social commerce."

Additional information is available in the Gartner report "Forecast: Social Media Revenue, Worldwide, 2011-2016." The report is available on Gartner's website at http://www.gartner.com/resId=2061016.

Millions of LinkedIn passwords reportedly leaked - take action NOW

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. June 7, 2012 – LinkedIn has confirmed that some of the password hashes that were posted online do match users of its service.



They have also stated that passwords that are reset will now be stored in salted hashed format. A file containing 6,458,020 SHA-1 unsalted password hashes has been posted on the internet, and hackers are working together to crack them.



Although the data which has been released so far does not include associated email addresses, it is reasonable to assume that such information may be in the hands of the criminals.
What is a salt? It is a string that is added to your password before it is cryptographically hashed. What does this accomplish? It means that password lists cannot be pre-computed based on dictionary attacks or similar techniques.



This is an important factor in slowing down people trying to brute force passwords. It buys time and unfortunately the hashes published from LinkedIn did not contain a salt.



After removing duplicate hashes, SophosLabs has determined there are 5.8 million unique password hashes in the dump, or which 3.5 million have already been brute forced. That means over 60% of the stolen hashes are now publicly known.

We also did some additional testing of commonly used passwords that should never be used. We started with the list of passwords that the Conficker worm used to spread through Windows networks. All but two of the Conficker passwords were used by someone in the 6.5 million user password dump. The two passwords that weren't found were 'mypc123' and 'ihavenopass'.
Other passwords that we found in the dump include 'linkedin', 'linkedinpassword', 'p455w0rd' and 'redsox'. We even found passwords that suggest people should know better like 'sophos', 'mcafee', 'symantec', 'kaspersky', 'microsoft' and 'f-secure'.

It is critical that LinkedIn investigate this to determine if email addresses and other information was also taken by the thieves which could put the victims at additional risk from this attack.
It would seem sensible to suggest to all LinkedIn users that they change their passwords as soon as possible as a precautionary step. Of course, make sure that the password you use is unique (in other words, not used on any other websites), and hard to crack.

If you were using the same passwords on other websites - make sure to change them too. And never again use the same password on multiple websites.

How to change your LinkedIn password
1. Log into LinkedIn.
2. You should see your name in the top right hand corner of the webpage. Click on it, and you will open a drop-down menu. Choose "Settings".


3. Choose the option to change your password.


4. After entering your old password, you will have to enter your new (hopefully unique and hard-to-crack password) twice.


Don't delay. Do it now. And if there are any more updates from LinkedIn we will let you know.
Update: LinkedIn has now confirmed that users' passwords have been exposed.