• GigaOm, Monday, November 23, 2009 2:35 PM

LinkedIn on Monday debuted a business-focused apps platform, following a string of LinkedIn deals to integrate with IBM, Research In Motion, Microsoft Outlook and Twitter. Promised early platform developers include TweetDeck, Posterous, Box.net and Ribbit.

Asks GigaOm: "With far too many platforms begging for developers' services today, why should they head to LinkedIn?" Answers Adam Nash, LinkedIn's VP of search and platform products: "Obviously LinkedIn is a pretty unique platform, but these are fundamentally standard REST APIs.... More than 50 million people have used LinkedIn to build their professional presence online, and they want to use it everywhere."

The new platform, Nash promises, will ensure the same privacy protections as the company's site.

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