LinkedIn wants to keep you up on Trending Storylines
The professional network revamps its news feature to try to keep members on the site longer as part of its ongoing redesign efforts.
LinkedIn is recasting the way its members keep up with the latest headlines and topics.
The professional network launched a new feature Wednesday called "Trending Storylines," which displays curated news from editors based on members' professions, favorite sites, and their LinkedIn connections and followers.
LinkedIn hopes its new Trending Storylines curated news feature will keep members on the network longer.
"The more you can know what's going on in the world, the better chance you have of finding your next job or some great project you want to land, or having an excuse to reach out to someone or changing your direction," said Dan Roth, LinkedIn's editor-in-chief. "This helps to expand your world."
Think of Trending Storylines as an upgraded version of its current Pulse news app (which got revamped in 2015 and was also incorporated into LinkedIn's main app). LinkedIn said it has spent the past year rebuilding its news feed from scratch. The feature is located under the Trending tab on mobile devices and on the top right-hand side of LinkedIn's homepage on desktop.
The new news feature arrives as LinkedIn continues to try moving beyond its original premise of serving as the must-use site for job hunters and recruiters. Its goal: to keep its 467 million users around longer on the network.
About 60 percent of LinkedIn's member traffic comes from a mobile device. The company's mobile app has seen a 50 percent increase in usage since its redesign in December 2015.
Topics on Trending Storylines could range from issues such as the Republican health care bill to ride-hailing service Uber's recent image problems, said Tomer Cohen, LinkedIn's vice president of product. He wants members to think of the feature as a tip sheet.
"We want to help them be knowledgeable on the biggest conversations taking place," he said. "We want them to be well informed so they are able to weigh in and stand out."
LinkedIn's news revamp is among a series of changes since software giant Microsoft acquired the company for $26.2 billion last year. Those changes include a desktop redesign and new features such as Conversation Starters, which connects members with others through messaging, and Salary, which helps people who want to earn more money.
The Trending Storylines feature is available only to LinkedIn members in the US for now but will roll out worldwide soon.