This document discusses and compares several professional social networks for researchers, including LinkedIn and ResearchGate. It provides information on the features and approaches of each network. LinkedIn is highlighted as the largest and most full-featured network for professionals, with over 200 million users. ResearchGate is described as similar to LinkedIn but targeted specifically for researchers, allowing them to self-archive papers and datasets, find collaborators, and build their reputation within the network. The document also notes some typical problems with ResearchGate, such as redundant publications that cannot be edited and a high volume of irrelevant questions.

1. Professional social networks –
for researchers
Milan Zdravković

2. Facebooks in suits
viadeo.com (France) xing.com (Germany)
LinkedIn – the best fit

3. LinkedIn – the best fit
◦ Launched on May, 2003
◦ More than 200 M users (11 M
from Europe, 100 M from USA)
◦ No. 2 social network in USA
◦ Revenues are coming from
talent solutions, marketing
solutions and premium
subscriptions
◦ LinkedIn was the 14th most
visited website in the world in
Nov 2012 (Alexa traffic rank)
◦ Will it open the arena of
products for Social Enterprises?
Features

4. Features
◦ Create and maintain list of professional contacts
◦ Get introduced to 2nd
and 3rd
level of contacts
◦ Design and advertise the professional profile
– Find jobs, people and business opportunities by search or by
“following” companies
◦ Advertise companies
– Create company pages, list products and services
– List jobs and search for potential candidates
◦ Ask questions for the community (LinkedIn Answers)
◦ Groups
– Forum discussion, polls
◦ Embedded applications
– Amazon reading list, TripIt, WordPress, SlideShare
Gated-access approach

5. Gated-access approach
◦ contact with any
professional requires
either an existing
relationship, or the
intervention of a contact
of theirs
Social job search

6. “Social” job search
◦ Consult your contacts
about the jobs
◦ Get introduced to
decision makers in your
network
Social job search

7. “Social” job search
◦ Find companies
who are hiring and
have employees
from your network
ResearchGate

8. ResearchGate
◦ If LinkedIn is
Facebook for
professionals, than
ResearchGate is
LinkedIn for
researchers
◦ Over 2.6 M users
◦ approx. 35 M papers
Features

9. Features
◦ Self-archiving
– Publishing papers, datasets
◦ Find potential collaborators
◦ Collaboration
– Ask questions, participate in discussions on specific topics
– Setup projects, exchange data files, manage tasks
◦ Build reputation through a reputation score and IF
– Personal
– Institutional
◦ Post jobs, search job listings
Researcher on ResearchGate

10. Researcher on ResearchGate
Goin viral with your papers

11. Goin’ viral with your papers on ResearchGate
Typical problems

12. Typical problems
◦ The redundancy
– Publications cannot be removed or even
sometimes – cannot be edited (when imported)
◦ Background noise
– High-number of non-informed, sometimes even
absurd questions
◦ Lack of original service
– All features are already offered by other websites

13. Enjoy your coffee !