WebProNews

The launch of its developer platform might make LinkedIn more like Facebook, but in another respect, the professional networking site is sticking by its suit-and-tie regulars; the first platform partner is BusinessWeek.

BusinessWeek was first published in 1929, and the topics covered by its current site include “Investing,” “Companies,” “Technology,” “Innovation,” “Small Biz,” “B-Schools,” and “Managing.”  This should suit the users of LinkedIn, where sheep-throwing is not allowed.

So suppose one of those users is reading about a company that’s doing especially well (or particularly poorly), and this person wants to know how it relates to him (or her).  “When you’re viewing a Business Week article with the new LinkedIn feature, you can hover over a company name and find out how you’re connected to the company via your professional contacts,” reports Anne Zelenka.

Interesting, eh?  Except that people may already carry many of those links around in their heads.  Also, folks may not join an entire networking site to take advantage of this one small feature.

Still, as launches go, this wasn’t a bad one, and we’ll be interested to see where the LinkedIn platform goes from here.