XING

  • Thomas Vollmoeller (CEO)
  • Ingo Chu, Timm Richter, Jens Pape

XING ( until the end of 2006 openBC for Open Business Club ) is a social network where members primarily manage their professional and / or personal contacts with other people and find new contacts.

Individual users or companies can create their own profile of yourself, are looking for technical staff itself, set jobs, organize events and participate in discussions in professional groups on XING. Operator of the portal is operated by XING AG, Hamburg, whose shares are listed on the Stock Exchange since December 2006, and since September 2011 in the Nasdaq.

XING is one of several Web-based social networks. One of the basic core functions is the visualization of the contact network: For example, a user can see " how many corners " - so what other members - he knows someone ( small-world phenomenon). In addition, the platform offers numerous community functions such as: share news with contacts and recommend jobs or links, search for people, interest areas and issues, corporate pages that include interactive features in the paid versions as well as some 55,000 groups in different areas of interest.

Xing mainly offers a platform for business networks in the German-speaking countries, as opposed to globally-oriented networks such as LinkedIn and Viadeo.

Business

XING was founded in August 2003 under the name OpenBC (Open Business Club ) by Lars Hinrichs and counted aloud Annual Report end of the first quarter of 2012, over 12 million users, of which 793,000 with a paid premium membership. 5.51 million members came March 31, 2012 from Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DA- CH), of which 765,000 paying members. In Germany alone has Xing month to 2.6 million to 3.5 million visits from users.

The platform is operated by XING AG Hamburg ( to 9 July 2007 under the name of OPEN Business Club AG ). In November 2009, the media company Hubert Burda Media announced that it had purchased a total of 1,323,041 shares of the Cinco Capital GmbH, through its subsidiary Burda Digital. Managing Director of Cinco Capital GmbH Lars Hinrichs. Burda thereby acquiring 25.1 % of the shares of XING and became a major shareholder. For March 20, 2012 Burda Digital GmbH held 29.7% of XING shares. Until October 2012 Burda built the proportion of 39.89 per cent on and made a takeover bid for XING. By ending on December 7, 2012, by the equity component of Burda increased to 59.2 %. In February 2013, the share was reduced to 52.6 %.

In December 2010 it was announced that XING purchased the Munich online ticket sales and event organization provider amiando for a total of 10.35 million euros with effect from 1 January 2011. XING members can now use directly on XING thus offering event tickets and sell the amiando services for online events. Beginning in January 2013 gave XING an acquisition in E-Recruiting known: The professional network bought the Austrian employer review portal kununu. The purchase price amounted to EUR 3.6 million initially and can last until 2015 - depending on the business of kununu - still increase by 5.8 million euros.

In fiscal 2011, XING generated revenues of 66.2 million euros, down 22 % on the sales in fiscal 2010. From 2008 to 2012, Stefan Gross-Selbeck CEO of XING AG, the current CEO is Thomas Vollmoeller. The shares are traded on the stock exchange since December 7, 2006, since September 2011, they are listed on the Nasdaq.

Since 2012, XING focuses on the German market. Meanwhile, about 91 percent of the page views come from the DA -CH region.

Operation

Logged-in users can add both professional and private data in a profile. Study, training and professional career are presented similarly as in the CV in tabular form. Scanned certificates and references to support the entries. Also, users can create a profile image, their interests and individual information about subscribe to the " About - Me page ". However, a commitment to full fill the profile with all fields does not exist. With this information, contact requests can be formulated as requests and offers. To contact us, it is necessary that a contact request from the opposite side is confirmed. The user decides itself in each case, who (for example, telephone number, e - mail address or date of birth) gets to see from his profile that information.

Membership requires a registration. The free (basic) membership, in contrast to paid premium membership limited functionality. For example, the search function only premium members fully available.

The termination of XING free membership at any time by the Terms and Conditions. She is compared to XING to explain; to the contact of the support can be used. The account is completely deleted with all entered data. The termination of the " Premium Membership " but only with 14-days notice of termination of a closed period possible. On the newer registration form pages will be clearly stated this subscription; older pages (2009) hide this notice very small in the terms and conditions.

A programming interface ( API) is outside developers and other companies to offer their own functionality in XING or retrieve their own data. This interface is on March 7, 2012 in a semi- public testing stage (closed beta). For mobile devices own app has been developed. XING is thus a direct competitor to its American counterpart LinkedIn. By the end of 2014, the adjustment of all functions should be chosen so that the representation from each terminal is independent.

User Functions

The user interface is multilingual XING and accounted for in the Search Members with common spoken languages ​​. Currently, the following system languages ​​are supported: German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese and Turkish.

In addition to the database-oriented public relations XING offers calendar of events, which are presented to the user thematically and regionally processed. In addition, the date function can also be used to organize private appointments.

The offer also includes 46 868 discussion forums (as of 31 October 2011), which are partly publicly and partly accessible only to a specific group of users. This includes closed user groups with advanced features for organizations and companies.

In addition to the online offerings, there are numerous regional groups that organize local meetings, where personal contacts can be made. So organized members in 2010 more than 180,000 events.

XING currently has 212 regional Ambassadors in 46 countries (as of May 16, 2012), which occupy a prominent position on the platform and as active facilitators each serve their regional XING group and regularly organize official XING events in their region. Have a special status beyond Xpert Ambassadors ( 87 in DA- CH), the moderating an industry-specific XING group. These persons must explicitly have expertise and be recognized in their field. They also organize official XING events for their industry.

Every registered user of XING also has its own mailbox. However, this is only accessible via the XING portal. Users can also directly call functions of the instant messaging and VoIP software Skype.

Since October 12, 2007 XING also offers (until March 2009 under the label Marketplace) a job board to. Platform Members may also set both self vacancies as also search for job openings. This XING recognized as one of the first German job boards on a pay- per-click billing procedures. The cost of job will not be charged for packages, but by how often they were called by other users. In the meantime, XING alternatively also introduced the industry-standard fixed-price model.

Registration and use of the basic functions are free of charge. Paying members receive, among other advanced search and statistical functions; for example, can be seen which other members have called their own contact page and which have made their own contacts within the last two months of a change in their professional position. Pending the revision of the platform on 15 September 2010, only premium members could send messages to other XING members, while base - members could only respond to messages. In the meantime can use within their network of contacts the message function in full basic members. Already since April 2010 Basic Members can also display a status message on their profile. Premium profiles are ad-free.

Target group of this platform social software are firstly working people who their contact network (partners, customers, friends, prospects, ex-colleagues, ex- classmates, etc) Maintain online. To become a member, internet users must be aged 18 or over. Another target group is companies that represent themselves with the help of a company's profile and their employer brand ( employer branding ) can maintain.

Pronunciation of the name

The term " XING " was chosen for reasons of internationalization. The old name openBC contains the English abbreviation for " before Christ ", which - as has been suggested in the forums - made ​​in English for confusion. The new name XING means in Chinese " it works", " it works " (行Chinese, Pinyin Xing [ ɕiŋ ˧ ˥ ] ). In English it is an abbreviation for Crossing, ie intersection, which can be seen as a meeting of business contacts. In an interview openBC - founder Lars Hinrichs said, not wanting to dictate the debate. In official corporate videos but the pronunciation is chosen Ksing in German.

Criticism

Since March 12, 2014 Xing rises for Switzerland higher prices ( more than 60% ) than for customers in other countries ( Germany, Austria ). This leads to the criticism that would Xing Swiss customers milking, since only for Swiss prices would have been increased.

Privacy advocates complain that participants contact their own relationships unprotected reveal the general public unaware of the protection settings. There are a number of websites that give users assistance so that they retain control over their personal data.

The function " members who have recently called my contact page ", which is fully usable only for premium users who own method of using the platform for other users, consciously or unconsciously visible. Even the " new in my network " has triggered heated discussions among members.

Other criticisms, there was early January 2008, when it became known that the Profile Pages advertising is displayed, if not paid members call this. About this innovation, the paying members felt insufficiently informed. Due to the numerous criticisms initially a function has been installed, can prevent the advertising on their profiles with the paying members. Shortly thereafter, the commercials were again completely shut down.

XING aggregated company profiles automatically when at least four people are logged on XING. This was problematic, as these company profiles include among other things, no imprint. Companies can, according to a judgment of the District Court of Nuremberg -Fürth, can be deleted automatically created profiles.

57018
de