Happy 21st Birthday, LinkedIn! Interestingly, my previous startup, JOBDIRECT, shared almost the same birthday as LinkedIn. I founded JOBDIRECT on May 1, 2003 (four days before LinkedIn).
Although I sold JOBDIRECT to Recruit Co., Ltd. (the current parent company of Indeed) in an M&A deal 2008, LinkedIn has continued to grow steadily for over 20 years, providing incredible value and service to the world.
I sincerely congratulate Reid Hoffman for his contributions and all the LinkedIn team members who have worked tirelessly since.
I’ve known about LinkedIn since its early days. I first registered an account in April 2004. While LinkedIn now has over a billion users, it reached its first million in August 2004. It's a small point of pride for me to have been among the "super innovators" in the initial 0.1%.
However, after selling my company, I created a new account to start fresh. My current account was created in 2010, and I’ve been using it for 14 years since then. (I can’t remember exactly why I created a new account, but with what I know about LinkedIn now, I wish I could go back and tell my past self, “Just keep using your original account!”)
The attached image shows LinkedIn’s login screen back in 2003. It’s nostalgic to see what internet design looked like back then. And it also reminds me of the rich history that LinkedIn has built over the years.
I can say that I wouldn’t be where I am today without LinkedIn. Through this platform, I've had the opportunity to meet numerous business partners and wonderful friends.
Now, I’m fortunate to work on meaningful projects with many LinkedIn Japan members, including "イッシー" Makoto Ishizaka. Reflecting on LinkedIn’s 20-year history, I’m truly grateful for these miraculous and wonderful connections.
For the next 10, 20, and 30 years of LinkedIn's development and its amazing users, I'm committed to contributing as much as I can.
#LinkedIn
Preparing for new challenges
2年前拝読致しました。 最近の個人的なテーマは、ありのままの自分を発信することです。 上記のような気持ちになれたのは、日本語圏のLinkedIn文化が醸成されてきたからかもしれませんし、LinkedInという場所が私にとって働き方に留まらない生き方を模索する場所となりつつあることの顕れかもしれません。 個人の時代、というのは、個人が自分自身の生き方をデジタルに遺せる時代だと考えると今後のLinkedInの活用が更に楽しみになりました。 いつも勉強させていただきありがとうございます。