LinkedIn has transformed from job-hunting punchline to thriving social platform. Revenue jumped from $7 billion in 2020 to $17 billion in 2025; membership doubled to 1.3 billion. Americans checking LinkedIn more than once daily climbed from 3.9 percent to 4.7 percent.
The secret is not new features—it’s an old rule LinkedIn never abandoned: real names required. As X and Facebook gutted content moderation, professionals migrated to a platform where identity accountability curbs toxicity.
When your real name and professional reputation are attached to every post, behavior changes. The anonymous toxicity that plagues other platforms cannot take root.
LinkedIn’s identity requirement creates a network effect around professional reputation: the more valuable your LinkedIn presence, the more you protect it with quality content.
The Strategic Lesson
While competitors experimented with looser moderation, LinkedIn maintained its core principle. Now it’s benefiting as professionals flee toxic alternatives for a platform where accountability is built into the architecture.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
