The problem is that Linkedin is the best source of data about edges and nodes of professional networks. There was and there is no mass-market alternative. So if you wanted to make an application using professional graph data there was no alternative.

As a long-term linkedin member, I never liked the company. They simply don't care about their users.

I'd argue that at this point we aren't LinkedIn's users anymore. Recruiters and HR are their users. We are just the data set.

While we are able to act on our free(arguably) will in the confinement of the linkedin walled garden, we are still users. Used and abused(heh) users, but nevertheless.

I wonder who will be the linkedin killer. I certainly would like to see a decentralized network of websites with each project maximizing value for its customer segment, freeing that audience from linkedin choke. There is so much innovation lying dormant in the professional graphs, I can't believe we are stuck in this incredibly inefficient local optima.

> We are just the data set.

Suppliers of the data set. Without which, they are of no value to those you describe as their users.

What about Crunchbase?

They're already starting to lock down all the data that was originally Creative Commons. They've stopped allowing you to download snapshots as spreadsheets, and generally hobbled the API.