LinkedIn doesn’t want you to think of it as a mere list of who has what gig, and where they’re going next. It wants to be the site you come back to again and again to find out what the people in your industry are up to, thinking, and writing on a daily basis.
The professional social network on Tuesday launched a “follow” feature that will allow the site’s users to follow one another’s posts without having to officially connect (something the site recommends you do only with people you know). More interestingly, LinkedIn is also rolling out a long-form publishing tool — basically a blogging tool — so people can post lengthier, media-rich updates to their profile pages. Both tools will be available on the desktop site and LinkedIn’s mobile apps.
“We think that content is one way that we can make users more productive and successful on LinkedIn. When you come on LinkedIn, we show you stuff that you need to pay attention to, to be better at your job,” LinkedIn Head of Content Products Ryan Roslansky told Wired. “We see this as a natural evolution. You can follow a company, an industry, a publisher, etc. — being able to follow other members and what they say on LinkedIn is just the next step.”
In essence, these new features mean LinkedIn users can now generate and consume original content on the site.
