LinkedIn took the next step in their evolution today by introducing applications. Watching how Facebook and MySpace have dropped the ball in a few areas (privacy, spamming, copyright issues), LinkedIn is being very cautious in their rollout of 10 new applications. You won’t see any zombies or vampires on LinkedIn applications – this is strictly business oriented. They’ve partnered with 8 companies (Amazon, WordPress, Box.net, SixApart, Slideshare, Google, TripIt, Huddle.net) to produce some really interesting business tools ranging from book sharing, to blogging, to sharing travel info and even documents and presentations. This makes LinkedIn into more of a productivity platform and business tool, as opposed to simply an online resume. Here’s the video introducing applications to the world:

Here’s some applications I was just brainstorming over the last few hours:

• Integration with 37 Signals products (Basecamp, Highrise, Backpack, Campfire)
• Integration with Microsoft Sharepoint
• Integration with Salesforce.com
• Integration with LiveMeeting, GoTo Meeting, Adobe Connect, WebEx, etc.
• Integration with Google Docs and Calendar

What do you want to see in LinkedIn’s application set? Leave a comment and we’ll pass it along to Patrick Crane, the CMO of LinkedIn, at the November 6th BMA event.