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Social networking has been the phenomenon of the past few years. While many people use it for recreational purposes, there is a growing trend of social networking use in a business environment. Research In Motion’s CEO Jim Balsillie has said that the future of the BlackBerry lies in social networking. Many of our business tools of today, including instant messaging, started as recreational social activities. Of course, there’s already a business social network: LinkedIn, which is 19 million professionals strong. And now they have the opportunity to grab more, as they’re entering the mobile world.

You can access it in your mobile browser from m.linkedin.com. This is a beta version, which is launching in English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese. The full version, given a successful beta, will launch later this year, hopefully by spring.

Members will be able to search profiles and bio information; research contacts they may have in common with other professionals; invite people to join networks; and receive updates about connections.

The major advantage of the mobile platform is that you can check profiles at any time. So if you’re headed to a conference, you can brush up on people’s bios right before you get there…or even while you’re there.

[mocoNews.net]

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