In early December 2007, B2B social networking site
LinkedIn announced that it would be upgrading numerous aspects of their site, which included a new homepage and the introduction of an application platform.
The new
LinkedIn homepage, which went live today, includes a new dimension to the LinkedIn service; being a ?status? feature which is akin to popular social utility Facebook?s news-feed. The Status feed has flexible privacy options that allow users to segment their connections and control which members receive status updates (or not).
Adam Nash, a senior director at
LinkedIn says, ?The status feature will provide another effective way to engage and tap into the knowledge of your network. For example, you might let your network know when you?re looking for advice or needing to hire someone, or when you?re planning a business trip or attending a conference.?
LinkedIn?s popular ?
Answers? feature, that allows members to seek answers to their question from their network of connections will also see an upgrade as part of the LinkedIn re-vamp. Answers will now be showcased through a module on the homepage, so members can ask and answer questions directly from the homepage.
?In our experience, we?ve found that when people share thoughts and information with their professional network on LinkedIn, they receive a wealth of insight and advice from their network,? Nash added. ?We expect the new status feature to take this phenomenon to the next level by increasing the frequency of that sharing.?
An additional introduction to LinkedIn will be ?News? which launches in beta. LinkedIn News will feature daily news from a network of over 10,000 publishers and blogs. The News that a member of the site will see, will be determined by the relevance their connections deem it has to their business.
Earlier this week, LinkedIn announced the introduction of a
mobile platform that enables users to search profiles, research mutual contacts, invite other professionals to join their network in addition to receiving notifications on their connections.