Professional networks have a clear purpose. They bring professionals, organisations, knowledge and opportunities together. They help people discover new connections, follow developments in their field, share expertise, find jobs and show what they or their organisation are working on.
LinkedIn has demonstrated just how significant the demand for professional networking is. At the same time, the distinction between a professional network and traditional social media can gradually become less clear.
This is exactly where WhoVinc wants to make a deliberate different choice.
Not another Facebook
When someone opens a professional network, we believe they should not first have to scroll through large amounts of personal or non-professional content before finding relevant professional information.
Of course, there is a person behind every professional profile. A personal story can therefore fit perfectly on WhoVinc. A new job, an interesting experience at work, completing a course or even a journey that is relevant to your profession can all make valuable professional content.
The difference is not whether something is personal. The difference is the context.
WhoVinc is not intended to become a general social network for personal diaries, random memes, everyday private updates or other content without a reasonable professional connection.
“When you open WhoVinc, it should feel like you are opening a professional network.”
So what does belong on WhoVinc?
A lot. Professional relevance does not mean that every post needs to be formal or impersonal.
Knowledge & expertise
Share insights, professional knowledge and developments within your field.
Careers
Share work experience, education, projects and professional milestones.
Entrepreneurship
Share developments, ideas and opportunities related to your business.
Companies
Publish company news, vacancies and relevant developments.
Research & education
Share research, internships, education and substantive projects.
Professional discussion
Exchange perspectives through posts, comments and professional groups.
The common denominator is not that all content needs to be formal. The common denominator is professional relevance.
What happens when content does not fit?
We want to be clear about this. When content has no reasonable professional, business, educational or career-related context, WhoVinc may decide to moderate or remove that content.
That does not mean one inappropriate post immediately results in an account being removed. Moderation should be reasonable and proportionate. For ordinary violations, action may begin with removing a post or issuing a warning.
Repeated violations may result in temporary restrictions on functionality or a temporary account suspension. Serious or continuing violations may ultimately result in termination of an account.
In serious situations such as fraud, phishing, threats, illegal content, impersonation or severe abuse, WhoVinc must be able to act immediately.
These principles will also form part of our terms and community guidelines.
Why are we making this choice?
A professional network remains valuable when people can trust that the content they encounter is reasonably relevant to their professional lives.
A network where almost anything can eventually be posted can increasingly start to resemble every other social network. WhoVinc wants to prevent professional content from disappearing into the background.
Not by making professional communication boring. Not by requiring everyone to think the same way. And not by banning every personal element.
Instead, we want to maintain a clear distinction between personal content with professional relevance and content that belongs more naturally on a general social network.
A European professional network
WhoVinc does not need to become a copy of LinkedIn
WhoVinc is being developed as a professional network with a strong European focus. Europe is home to millions of professionals, students, entrepreneurs and organisations that work across borders, exchange knowledge and look for new opportunities.
We are not only thinking about features such as profiles, connections, companies, jobs, messaging and groups. Privacy, transparency and user control are also considered from the development of the platform.
We can learn from what existing professional networks have done well while deliberately making our own choices about how WhoVinc should develop.
Staying professional as we grow
This choice is relatively straightforward while a platform is small. The real challenge begins when a network grows.
That is why we do not want to start protecting the professional character of WhoVinc only after non-professional content has become a problem. We want this principle to be part of the platform, our moderation and our community guidelines from the beginning.
Ultimately, we want people to open WhoVinc to move forward professionally: to meet someone, learn something, share expertise, find a job, discover talent, grow a business or come across a new professional opportunity.
That is the kind of social network WhoVinc wants to be.
Discover WhoVinc
Professional networking with a European focus.