Hall of Modern Industry · Wing C

Professional Networks
of the 2020s

A reference exhibition surveying LinkedIn alongside three other widely used services. Curated for orientation, not for ranking.

Open Daily Self-Guided Catalogue 2026

~ Gallery Floor Plan ~

Four rooms, surveyed clockwise from the entrance. Reference hall at centre.

CAT. 01

I Room One · West Wing

A general-purpose professional network, owned by Microsoft

Operates as a broad service combining personal profiles, employer pages, job postings, recruiter tools, posts, and direct messaging. Frequently described as the largest of its kind by reported member count. Tends to be used for résumés, hiring, B2B outreach, and industry posts.

Founded: 2003
Owner: Microsoft, since 2016
Tilted toward: Profile, posts, jobs, sales tooling
Pricing: Free tier, paid Premium tiers
Often used by: Job seekers, recruiters, B2B sellers, marketers

CAT. 02

II Room Two · North Wing

Indeed

A job aggregator and direct job board, owned by Recruit Holdings

Centres on job search rather than ongoing personal networking. Aggregates listings from many employers and boards, supports applications and recruiter contact, and includes a company review feature shared with Glassdoor. Tends to be used as a hiring channel by employers and an active search tool by job seekers.

Founded: 2004
Owner: Recruit Holdings
Tilted toward: Job listings, search, employer ATS feeds
Pricing: Free for seekers, paid sponsored listings for employers
Often used by: Active job seekers, employers running open roles

CAT. 03

III Room Three · East Wing

Glassdoor

A company review and job listings service, owned by Recruit Holdings

Centres on anonymous employer reviews, salary reports, and interview write-ups, paired with job listings. Often consulted by candidates before applying or accepting an offer. Now operates within the same parent group as Indeed and shares some data between the two services.

Founded: 2007
Owner: Recruit Holdings
Tilted toward: Employer reviews, salary data, interview reports
Pricing: Free for users, paid employer products
Often used by: Candidates researching employers, HR teams managing brand

CAT. 04

IV Room Four · South Wing

Xing

A regional professional network, headquartered in Hamburg

A professional network developed primarily for the German-speaking markets, with members concentrated in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Includes profiles, job postings, and event groups. Tends to be used by job seekers and employers operating within the DACH region as a complement to or substitute for LinkedIn.

Founded: 2003
Owner: New Work SE
Tilted toward: DACH-region profiles, jobs, events
Pricing: Free tier, paid Premium tiers
Often used by: Job seekers and employers in German-speaking countries

Reference Hall

Comparative Catalogue

A side-by-side reading of the four rooms.

Attribute	LinkedIn	Indeed	Glassdoor	Xing
Centre of gravity	Profiles, posts, jobs, sales tools	Job listings	Reviews, salary data, jobs	Regional profiles and jobs
Owner	Microsoft	Recruit Holdings	Recruit Holdings	New Work SE
Founded	2003	2004	2007	2003
Personal feed and posts	Yes, central	Limited	Limited	Yes, lighter
Anonymous reviews	No	Some, shared with Glassdoor	Yes, central	Some
Geographic strength	Global	Global	Mainly North America, expanding	Mainly DACH region
Free tier	Yes	Yes for seekers	Yes for users	Yes

~ Curator's Note ~

Each room presents one service on the same template. The rooms are arranged for orientation, not by rank. Which service suits a particular use depends on the visitor's region, role, and reason for visiting.

The Curatorial Office, 2026