LinkedIn competitor offers to drop Russians into same legal trap that caught LinkedIn

When misfortune befalls a market leader, smaller companies often exhort Register hacks to report on the wonderful alternative they offer readers seeking safe harbour from the latest SNAFU.

And so it was over the weekend when, in an attempt to capitalise on LinkedIn's troubles in Russia, rival social network for businesses “Opportunity” got in touch with news of its lifeline for those whose business networks have just been sent to digital Siberia.

“Opportunity is concerned with the country's decision as it could have a snowball effect that would greatly hamper its peoples' ability to connect with each other,” we were told. It's therefore cooked up a free offer for Russians, who the site says are already signing up for the service in record numbers.

Knowing that LinkedIn has been KickedOut of Russia for failing to comply with laws demanding on-shore storage of personal data, The Register asked Opportunity if it stores personal data on Russian soil.

“They do not”, we were told by the service's PR operatives. Which means Opportunity has just asked Russians to sign up for a social network that is exposed to the same problem that brought LinkedIn low.

Russians who want to again risk time and energy curating a social media profile on services that do not comply with Russian law therefore now have a welcome alternative at a discount price.

And the rest of us have a brilliant case study on how not to do ambush marketing. And perhaps, it it is not too self-congratulatory, also an example of how a single question can bring such efforts undone. ®