Reid Hoffman

Has a mastery of social networking become a prerequisite for a successful working life? If "friending" and tweeting are now essential skills for the professional classes, where does that leave the chronically network-challenged? And how do you get into the networks where the power players hang out? Questions such as these spring inevitably — and uncomfortably — to mind as you read "The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself and Transform Your Career," a new book cowritten by Reid Hoffman, founder and chairman of Mountain View, Calif.-based LinkedIn Corp.

LinkedIn is connecting with investors. The dominant professional networking site was one of the few bright spots Friday on Wall Street. Its shares skyrocketed nearly 18% to $89.96 in the single biggest one-day jump since its initial public stock offering in May. LinkedIn's stock has doubled in value since the IPO. The jet fuel powering the professional networking site: its fourth-quarter earnings, released Thursday. Revenue more than doubled from the previous year to nearly $168 million.

Reid Hoffman is a big man in Silicon Valley. And, try as he might to remain in the background, his stature just keeps growing -- literally and figuratively. It all began in the bleak aftermath of the dot-com bust, when despondent entrepreneurs and investors were throwing in the towel. Hoffman, never one to shrink from a challenge, rolled up his sleeves. The PayPal Inc. veteran took some of the $10 million he made in 2002, when EBay Inc.

Has a mastery of social networking become a prerequisite for a successful working life? If "friending" and tweeting are now essential skills for the professional classes, where does that leave the chronically network-challenged? And how do you get into the networks where the power players hang out? Questions such as these spring inevitably — and uncomfortably — to mind as you read "The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself and Transform Your Career," a new book cowritten by Reid Hoffman, founder and chairman of Mountain View, Calif.-based LinkedIn Corp.

. -- Few Internet entrepreneurs practice what they preach as devoutly as LinkedIn Corp. co-founder Reid Hoffman, whose business revolves around his belief that good fortune flows from good relationships. Hoffman, 40, has put that principle to work by mining his own vast network of Silicon Valley connections to rake in one Internet jackpot after another. A college friendship led Hoffman to PayPal and his first windfall when EBay Inc. bought the online payment service for $1.5 billion in 2002.

LinkedIn is connecting with investors. The dominant professional networking site was one of the few bright spots Friday on Wall Street. Its shares skyrocketed nearly 18% to $89.96 in the single biggest one-day jump since its initial public stock offering in May. LinkedIn's stock has doubled in value since the IPO. The jet fuel powering the professional networking site: its fourth-quarter earnings, released Thursday. Revenue more than doubled from the previous year to nearly $168 million.

LinkedIn insiders are preparing to hit the sell button. Executives and investors looking to realize gains in the stock since its blockbuster initial public offering in May plan to sell more than 6.7 million shares worth about $500 million, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. One of LinkedIn's top investors, Bain Capital, is unloading its entire stake in the professional networking company. It holds more than 3.7 million shares, about 4% of LinkedIn's outstanding stock.

In a major leadership shake-up at one of Silicon Valley's hottest companies, LinkedIn Corp. founder Reid Hoffman is retaking the helm and bringing in former Yahoo Inc. executive Jeff Weiner as interim president. Hoffman will replace Chief Executive Dan Nye, a veteran software executive recruited nearly two years ago who has helped propel dramatic growth at one of the standouts among social networks.

In one of the most anticipated stock market debuts of the year, LinkedIn Corp. plans to raise as much as $175 million in an initial public offering. The Mountain View, Calif., company, which runs the largest networking site for professionals, became the first major social networking site to file a prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. It is widely believed that LinkedIn could raise about $200 million in the offering. The move could signal an end to the long dry spell for major Internet IPOs.

LinkedIn Corp., a website for professionals to connect, may be the first company to quench investor thirst for the red-hot social networking market. The Mountain View, Calif., company has been quietly preparing an initial public offering for as early as the first three months of this year. LinkedIn has hired investment bankers Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase to advise it after a round of interviews in November. The size of the offering is not known, but it is expected to be small relative to the company's value.

LinkedIn insiders are preparing to hit the sell button. Executives and investors looking to realize gains in the stock since its blockbuster initial public offering in May plan to sell more than 6.7 million shares worth about $500 million, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. One of LinkedIn's top investors, Bain Capital, is unloading its entire stake in the professional networking company. It holds more than 3.7 million shares, about 4% of LinkedIn's outstanding stock.

In one of the most anticipated stock market debuts of the year, LinkedIn Corp. plans to raise as much as $175 million in an initial public offering. The Mountain View, Calif., company, which runs the largest networking site for professionals, became the first major social networking site to file a prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. It is widely believed that LinkedIn could raise about $200 million in the offering. The move could signal an end to the long dry spell for major Internet IPOs.

LinkedIn Corp., a website for professionals to connect, may be the first company to quench investor thirst for the red-hot social networking market. The Mountain View, Calif., company has been quietly preparing an initial public offering for as early as the first three months of this year. LinkedIn has hired investment bankers Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase to advise it after a round of interviews in November. The size of the offering is not known, but it is expected to be small relative to the company's value.

In a major leadership shake-up at one of Silicon Valley's hottest companies, LinkedIn Corp. founder Reid Hoffman is retaking the helm and bringing in former Yahoo Inc. executive Jeff Weiner as interim president. Hoffman will replace Chief Executive Dan Nye, a veteran software executive recruited nearly two years ago who has helped propel dramatic growth at one of the standouts among social networks.

Reid Hoffman is a big man in Silicon Valley. And, try as he might to remain in the background, his stature just keeps growing -- literally and figuratively. It all began in the bleak aftermath of the dot-com bust, when despondent entrepreneurs and investors were throwing in the towel. Hoffman, never one to shrink from a challenge, rolled up his sleeves. The PayPal Inc. veteran took some of the $10 million he made in 2002, when EBay Inc.

. -- Few Internet entrepreneurs practice what they preach as devoutly as LinkedIn Corp. co-founder Reid Hoffman, whose business revolves around his belief that good fortune flows from good relationships. Hoffman, 40, has put that principle to work by mining his own vast network of Silicon Valley connections to rake in one Internet jackpot after another. A college friendship led Hoffman to PayPal and his first windfall when EBay Inc. bought the online payment service for $1.5 billion in 2002.

Facebook is about to create some overnight liquid millionaires and billionaires as they cash in on the company's initial public stock offering later this month. Chief Executive and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and investors plan to sell as much as $5.5 billion in stock in the hotly anticipated IPO. They will sell 157.4 million shares for as much as $35 apiece, according to a regulatory filing Facebook filed Thursday. Zuckerberg will sell 30.2 million of his 533.8 million shares.

Today Ellen DeGeneres; Julianne Moore; Scotty McCreery; Bruce Jenner. (N) 7 a.m. KNBC Good Morning America Hugh Jackman; William Shatner; The Bangles perform. (N) 7 a.m. KABC Live With Regis and Kelly Hugh Jackman; Kaley Cuoco; Scotty McCreery performs. (N) 9 a.m. KABC The View Chef Bobby Flay; Sela Ward; Laura Dern. (N) 10 a.m. KABC The Talk Andie MacDowell; Rocco DiSpirito; Carnie Wilson; Molly Shannon; and Sheryl Underwood. (N) 1 p.m. KCBS The Doctors Disciplining children; myths about organic produce.