Query: LinkedIn is based on Earth.

Relevant passages:
United States <=SEP=> The United States of America ( USA ) , commonly known as the United States ( U.S. ) or America , is a constitutional federal republic composed of 50 states , a federal district , five major self-governing territories , and various possessions .  Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico . The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America , bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west . The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean . The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea . Nine time zones are covered . The geography , climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse .   At 3.8 million square miles ( 9.8 million km2 ) and with over 324 million people , the United States is the world 's third - or fourth-largest country by total area , third-largest by land area , and the third-most populous . It is one of the world 's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations , and is home to the world 's largest immigrant population . The capital is Washington , D.C. , and the largest city is New York City ; nine other major metropolitan areas -- each with at least 4.5 million inhabitants and the largest having more than 13 million people -- are Los Angeles , Chicago , Dallas , Houston , Philadelphia , Miami , Atlanta , Boston , and San Francisco .   Paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago . European colonization began in the 16th century . The United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast . Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the colonies following the Seven Years ' War led to the American Revolution , which began in 1775 . On July 4 , 1776 , during the course of the American Revolutionary War , the colonies unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence . The war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain , representing the first successful war of independence against a European power . The current constitution was adopted in 1788 , after the Articles of Confederation , adopted in 1781 , were felt to have provided inadequate federal powers . The first ten amendments , collectively named the Bill of Rights , were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties .   The United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century , displacing Native American tribes , acquiring new territories , and gradually admitting new states until it spanned the continent by 1848 . During the second half of the 19th century , the American Civil War led to the end of legal slavery in the country . By the end of that century , the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean , and its economy , driven in large part by the Industrial Revolution , began to soar . The Spanish -- American War and confirmed the country 's status as a global military power . The United States emerged from as a global superpower , the first country to develop nuclear weapons , the only country to use them in warfare , and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council . The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the world 's sole superpower . The U.S. is a founding member of the United Nations , World Bank , International Monetary Fund , Organization of American States ( OAS ) , and other international organizations .   The United States is a highly developed country , with the world 's largest economy by nominal GDP and second-largest economy by PPP . Though its population is only 4.3 % of the world total , Americans hold nearly 40 % of the total wealth in the world . The United States ranks among the highest in several measures of socioeconomic performance , including average wage , human development , per capita GDP , and productivity per person . While the U.S. economy is considered post-industrial , characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy , the manufacturing sector remains the second-largest in the world . Accounting for approximately a quarter of global GDP and a third of global military spending , the United States is the world 's foremost economic and military power . The United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally , and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations .

LinkedIn <=SEP=> LinkedIn ( -LSB- ˌliŋkt.ˈɪn -RSB- ) is a business - and employment-oriented social networking service that operates via websites and mobile apps . Founded on December 28 , 2002 , and launched on May 5 , 2003 , it is mainly used for professional networking , including employers posting jobs and job seekers posting their CVs . As of 2015 , most of the company 's revenue came from selling access to information about its members to recruiters and sales professionals . As of September 2016 , LinkedIn had more than 467 million accounts , out of which more than 106 million are active . As of April 2017 , LinkedIn had 500 million members in 200 countries . LinkedIn allows members ( both workers and employers ) to create profiles and `` connections '' to each other in an online social network which may represent real-world professional relationships . Members can invite anyone ( whether an existing member or not ) to become a connection . The `` gated-access approach '' ( where contact with any professional requires either an existing relationship or an introduction through a contact of theirs ) is intended to build trust among the service 's members . LinkedIn participated in the EU 's International Safe Harbor Privacy Principles .   The site has an Alexa Internet ranking as the 20th most popular website . According to the New York Times , US high school students are now creating LinkedIn profiles to include with their college applications .  Based in the United States , the site is , as of 2013 , available in 24 languages , including Arabic , Chinese , English , French , German , Italian , Portuguese , Spanish , Dutch , Swedish , Danish , Romanian , Russian , Turkish , Japanese , Czech , Polish , Korean , Indonesian , Malay , and Tagalog . LinkedIn filed for an initial public offering in January 2011 and traded its first shares on May 19 , 2011 , under the NYSE symbol `` LNKD '' .   On June 13 , 2016 , Microsoft announced plans to acquire LinkedIn for $ 26.2 billion . The acquisition was completed on December 8 , 2016 . The transaction resulted in the payment of approximately $ 26.4 billion in cash merger consideration .