As a Linked In user, I’ve been noticing certain changes recently, and Kevin Bury wrote on November 6th, 2009 an article regarding the recent LinkedIn website redesign and explained with more details , the new version of this excellent professional networking website.
What’s New
- A global navigation bar at the top of the page that provides convenient access to all LinkedIn services.
- Simplified local navigation within each of the LinkedIn areas (Profile, Contacts, Groups, etc.).
- More room available for page content. Less scrolling.
- A cleaner, less-cluttered look.
Visit the Linked In blog for more information
Jesse Poe
It has been 2 years coming, I am happy for the changes however minimal they are, but much more excited about the possibilities that might arise as a result.
The most obvious would be an integration of services such as Plocky where I could easily connect my social connections that I have built via Twitter, or reconnected on Facebook, or even found through forums for change like GOOD.is. to my Linked IN.
Asking people to add you in one place and then come join you in another is tedious, and although everyone wants to have the stamp on the town square they should realize that if they were to simply make the town square centralized and easy to get to, more people will congregate there instead of staying at home.
There was a question, getting passed around twitter the other day:
LinkedIN to what?
I don’t agree, but it begs the question, how has Linked IN failed if people aren’t easily seeing the benefit of their service?
I have found Linked IN and realize that it is what you put into it, as any platform is. I have found it very useful for those close enough to me that they are willing to then go to another platform to friend me, however it can often be a rather bottom up feed source.
I run an engaging and organic twitter account, which although small consists of people I have engaged and built a dialogue with. If I put their twitter name into a tweet, I am sure that I will get not only a response but a “threaded” conversation.
Britney does not follow me, but quite a few CEOs of cool companies do.
So think about this Linked IN and those thinking of building another platform, someone who is looking for a leg up, and is intrigued by the information I give out on twitter, they are going to do the click work to find me and Link in with me, maybe.
A CEO or other possible future client, who finds the material I tweet interesting, is probably going to keep following my links when they see them, but it is going to a long slow reeling in process to “linking in”. And during the process, they could have had me consulting them on the functionality of their site and its flow, or perhaps redesigning it from the ground up.
I might have lost that chance to some kid in their mail room who says he knows a guy who knows html. While slowly reeling them in, they have lost the chance of having an effective site and outreach and way to use that site right now as a tool.
The operative word is “right now”.
We want to put 2 & 2 together right now, because we might need 4 to get us through a choppy quarter, or for the launch of our most innovative product or service to date.
Linked IN and others should think about this and less about the popularity of their own site and brand. If a brand doesn’t serve me, then I am going to remember its name, I am going to remember it as something that didn’t work. However, the first person to connect us conveniently and across platforms will win my loyalty and surely every other person, they won’t even need a brand name, they’ll just sell the service and retire in the Caribbeans.
Jesse Poe
http://www.dmdxd.com/