LinkedIn followed the example set by Facebook, MySpace and other social networks and opened its own application platform that allows the site’s approximately 30 million users to share presentation files, reading lists and other similar docs.

The business site’s new platform contains applications from Google, Amazon, Six Apart, WordPress, Box.net, Huddle, SlideShare and TripIt. LinkedIn made the move with the attempt to faster secure communications and collaboration among employees. The social network also launched its own Company Buzz application. The new application allows users to see Twitter tweets associated with their company.

Now it’s time for a few application examples. Box.net makes it possible for users to upload, manage, share and edit documents online. In the same way, Huddle.net's Workspaces app can be used by workers to collaborate on documents in a safe environment and using a simple gadget.

With Google's Presentation app, LinkedIn users can upload Powerpoint (.PPT) files in their site profile and other users can see the presentations without having to download them. Similarly, the SlideShare app indexes .PDF, .PPT, .ODP, and .DOC files into a virtual portfolio.

Despite the fact that the economic downturn has hit hard the social web sites, LinkedIn hopes to do better than the competition and they base their hope on the fact that their site focuses on business. The judgment is simple: the people who will use LinkedIn’s social network will be employed people, thus people with money. On the other hand, the other social networks mainly address to young people and students, a segment of people with less money.