One of the first and the largest professional social network sites, LinkedIn recently turned 7.  It has been the leader when it comes to B2B social networks and has over 65 million members worldwide.

Originally known as a tool for job seekers, LinkedIn has continued to evolve and grow. The newest feature that LinkedIn recently released is the ability to “Follow” companies. Following a company on LinkedIn is similar to following a company on Twitter or “liking” a company on Facebook. This feature will allow you to get updates within your LinkedIn homepage under network updates and/or sent via email. At this point those updates consist of profile changes, new hires, recent departures and promotions.

An important thing to note is that the information on new hires, promotions, etc. will come from individual LinkedIn user profiles who have indicated in their personal profile that they have a new position or job title. And updates to the company profile can be made by any employee who has confirmed a valid company email address.

While this new company follow function can be a great prospecting and job seeking tool, for some companies that like to keep a tight rein on corporate communications this could be somewhat worrisome. I would advise just keeping a close eye on things for now. If LinkedIn continues to follow the path of Facebook and Twitter, they will most likely soon offer more customization and control options for company profiles.