LinkedIn the new Ning

In an earlier post "The Verticalazation of Social Networks" I blogged about well...going more vertical. LinkedIn (as we said they would) has made yet another move closer to their vertical strategy. Look for them to offer more "Ning" like features over the next 12 months. For now they just announced that users of LinkedIn groups now have access to;

• Discussion forums: Simple discussion spaces for you and your members. (You can turn discussions off in your management control panel if you like.)
• Enhanced roster: Searchable list of group members.
• Digest emails: Daily or weekly digests of new discussion topics which your members may choose to receive. (We will be turning digests on for all current group members soon, and prompting them to set to their own preference.)
• Group home page: A private space for your members on LinkedIn.