Warum haben Sie überhaupt ein Viadeo-Konto erstellt?
Perhaps you are among the many people who also have a Viadeo account? This professional network once had the advantage of being more French-centric than its American competitor, LinkedIn (by the way, it’s pronounced "Linked in" and not "Link and din").
Indeed, on LinkedIn, you receive countless contact requests from India or the US. Very flattering in itself, but of no business interest for a company like EyeOnline agency, which focuses on European and French markets.
Conversely, Viadeo allowed for connections with French companies, especially in the province, something that LinkedIn made more difficult.
A series of bad news
Although Viadeo was launched two years before LinkedIn, the latter quickly surpassed its French competitor and finally secured its dominance after being acquired by Microsoft in April 2016 for over $26 billion. This marked the beginning of a downward spiral for the French player...
Despite having 11 million users in France (compared to LinkedIn's 12 million), Viadeo failed in its attempt to conquer the Chinese market, leaving it with colossal debts. Forced to refocus on the French market, Viadeo tried to reestablish itself in its original field, recruitment, by heavily promoting offers tailored to businesses.
However, nothing worked, and the group was eventually placed under judicial administration in November 2016. The arrival of a new President, Françoise Gri, did nothing to stop the downfall, and she eventually announced her resignation following the social network's acquisition by Figaro Classifieds for a mere 1.5 million euros.
The cold shower
After following these numerous twists and turns, it was time to revisit my Viadeo account to see if there had been any changes to the interface and for users. It was also an opportunity to export my 1,400 contacts to send them my 2017 New Year’s greetings and updates.
But to my horror, I discovered that I could no longer export my contact list. This feature had simply been removed! After having a Premium account for more than two years, I no longer had control over my address book, which became the exclusive property of Viadeo, only accessible via their platform.
So, if you are one of my lucky contacts on Viadeo, please find me on LinkedIn, Xing, or even on Facebook—I won’t hold it against you...
by EyeOnline agency
Web marketing & operational marketing in France.