LinkedIn is one of the most buzzed about companies in online media. The company has won lots of fans - 11 million members in fact - for it’s easy-to-use business networking tool. 

Some have described the company as kind of a corporate version of News Corp.’s (NWS) MySpace. And with so many dot-coms selling out to larger media and tech firms these days, it’s reasonable to wonder if LinkedIn might also be looking at linking up with a bigger corporation.

But LinkedIn’s new chief executive officer Dan Nye told me Tuesday that the company has no plans to sell out. He also shared some pretty bold goals for the four-year old company.

Nye, in New York City for tonight’s Webby awards - LinkedIn won both the Services award and Social Networking Award - stopped by the CNNMoney.com offices Tuesday morning to chat about the company’s future. Speaking of the Webby Awards, CNNMoney.com won the People’s Voice award for Financial Services. Woo-hoo!

Nye, who joined LinkedIn from Advent Software (ADVS) in February, said that he expects the company to have 25 million members and ”in the ballpark” of $100 million in revenue by the end of 2008.  The company generates revenue from a mix of subscription services, online advertising and job listings. What’s more, Nye said that within the next few years, LinkedIn could have $1 billion in annual sales and more than 50 million members.

Are these pie-in-the sky goals? Nye doesn’t think so, considering that the site went from having about 6 million members in September to its current level of 11 million. He said LinkedIn is adding new members at about a rate of 180,000 a week or 19 people a minute.

Still, some have questioned what’s next for LinkedIn followingNye’s hiring. Nye replaced co-founder Reid Hoffman, who stepped down as CEO but remains chairman. The timing of the move perplexed some since it came only a few days after LinkedIn announced a significant new round of venture capital financing. In addition, another LinkedIn co-founder, Konstantin Guericke, left the company in December to become the CEO of Internet phone service jaxtr.

Nye said the management changes do not signal a shift in strategy for LinkedIn.

“This is a turning point for the company. It is entering the critical teenage years. If you look at what the co-founders did, they accomplished a lot in four years,” Nye said, adding that now the focus is on adding new features as well as expansion into more international markets.

One thing that LinkedIn users should not expect, though, is a transformation of the site into something more akin to MySpace, Facebook or Match.com. Nye said that there has been ”temptation” to add more social networking features to the site because some users have asked for it.

But Nye quickly added that the best way for the site to flourish is by maintaining its focus on the professional market and not overreach by entering new markets. He also said LinkedIn primarily plans to grow by hiring more engineers and not going out and making big, splashy acquisitions. “We are a big believer in core business growth. You are not going to see us do anything to risk the company’s future,” he said.

Finally, Nye dismissed speculation that LinkedIn would ever sell out even though the company could be considered a good fit for a host of companies ranging from Google (GOOG) and online job siteMonster Worldwide (MNST) to even executive recruiting firms like Heidrick and Struggles (HSII) and Korn Ferry (KFY).

“It would take a lot to get us on any other path than remaining independent,” he said, adding that the hope is for LinkedIn to eventually go public.