So lately, Facebook has made some moves that have left a lot of people wondering whether it's going to completely rub LinkedIn into the sand. Of course, then there are are those who are quick to point out how (on some important technicality) the two arent' really comparable. It's really the difference between a search engine like Google and a vertical search engine.

For those predicitng LInkedIn's downfall, it's a case of Facebook being able to do what LInkedIn does, and then some. As Froosh over at HipMojo reasons:

While the companies are very different (consumer vs. business), fundamentally, they are one and the same. And LinkedIn - who this Sunday announced that in nine months they’ll open up their APIs - knows that it’s in a rush to sell shares to the public, because if the public had to choose between Facebook or LinkedIn, irrelevant of fundamentals, they’ll jump on the Facebook bandwagon like the media, bloggers, mainstream press and VC investors have.

The there are those who cite Facebook's ability to do more than LinkedIn as the very reason that LinkedIn will be able to stick it out. Basically, they see it as a case of LinkedIn having a niche. For example, Muhammad over at Pronet Advertising figures that:

LinkedIn is known for having a clear focus in mind. The site doesn't aim to do many things at once, rather is strictly a business-oriented social network and is damn good at that. And keeping that in mind, even if Facebook was to launch some sort of competitor, just take a look at the sites' demographics and you tell me which one you would rather be a part of for professional social networking.

What I think is likely to be the case is that both will survive, but Facebook will just end up much bigger than LinkedIn ever will. Facebook gets so much more attention (1) because it does so much more, and (2) because of its ability to gather accurate and exhaustive information on its users, something that's invaluable to marketers. LinkedIn, however, offers a range of functionality and degree of privacy that, I think, serves its niche perfectly.