In response to Facebook opening up its platform to 3rd party developers, LinkedIn — the social networking site for professionals — has announced that it too will be opening up its platform to 3rd party development to enhance functionality. The announcement came from LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman, who said Friday that over the next 9 months LinkedIn would be delivering APIs to developers to make its platform more like Facebook, and to create a way for users who spent most of their time on Facebook to get LinkedIn notifications.

I think this is a wonderful move on the part of LinkedIn. The site truly is a wonderful tool for professional networking. I’d say roughly half of the professionals I have come across in my career have profiles on the site, and I have received a few job inquiries since signing up less than one year ago. Just as Facebook has seen an explosion in membership since opening up its doors, so too should LinkedIn once it opens up shop.