LinkedIn Is Kicking @$$ and Taking Names [Chart of the Week]

Each Saturday, #we publish our Chart of the Week. It presents interesting trends and data, usually related to the U.S. labor market.

You will find more statistics at Statista

This week’s chart comes courtesy of Statista and clearly shows that LinkedIn is currently at the top of the technology food chain:

For today’s chart, we had a look at revenue growth in the first six months of 2012. Surprisingly, the company that posted the highest year-over-year growth is none of the industry heavyweights. LinkedIn, the network for professionals, grew 94% compared to last year’s first half and is thus the fastest-growing company on our list by a wide margin.

Here at #CareerGravity, we strongly recommend that you own your online identity, not rent it. That means planting a flag by registering your own domain name and then building a home base with a personal website with WordPress. Using social media sites like LinkedIn, About.me, Twitter, etc… is effective and important but should not be regarded as a permanent solution. There is always a risk that their business model will change (or go away), altering and/or destroying all of the work you’ve done in that channel. What this chart suggests is that at least LinkedIn appears to be one of the least risky rental options right now.