by Brian Solis
VentureBeat is reporting that the recent rumors circulating on the blogosphere about News Corp. and LinkedIn, may indeed be true.
According to the story:
News Corp.’s strategy, from what we understand: Somehow integrate LinkedIn’s network with the Wall Street Journal as well as its other newspapers around the world, hopefully figuring out how to recoup News Corp.’s newspapers’ declining classified ad revenue in the process.
The driving force behind the deal is Jeremy Philips, according to our source. Philips is a rising star in the media conglomerate. At age 33, he is already an executive vice president under News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch, who our source says he is very close with.
When I first heard the rumor, I suspected that News Corp. was merely seeking to expand its foray into the world of social networks, but this time buying into a higher caliber of business contacts rather than simply focusing on “a place for friends.”
The angle of utilizing the social capital within LinkedIn to more effectively leverage its media assets is “news” to me. I’ll follow up on this when I know more.
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