LinkedIn just unveiled a new version of its popular Pulse news reader app on iOS and Android. They’ve completely redesigned it from the ground up with a focus on personalized news based on the user’s professional network.
Pulse co-founder Akshay Kothari says this is basically the app they wanted to build when they first joined LinkedIn two years ago.
“It’s deeply personalized based on who you are as a professional – what you do, who you follow, who you’re connected to, etc., and is focused on delivering the right content and right context for that content while also giving users control over what they see,” a LinkedIn spokesperson tells us.
Kothari talks about using the app in a blog post:
When you start the new app, you’ll experience an effortless onboarding process. You don’t need to follow publishers or topics or anything to get started—just log in with your LinkedIn account, and Pulse instantly gives you today’s news based on the industry you work in, who you’re connected to and what you follow on LinkedIn.
The new cards-based interface has been designed to enable users to skim through lots of content quickly. Don’t like a story? Dismiss it. Want to read a story later? Save it. Like the author of the article? Follow them. All these interactions will continuously refine your content recommendations. The recommendations come from a variety of sources…
The app gives you stories written by people you’re connected to, stories that are trending in your industry, and stories that are popular with your coworkers. Additionally, it alerts you when one of your connections is mentioned in the news. It utilizes Newsle, which LinkedIn acquired last year, to let users set up notifications to get notified every time a connection makes the news.
You’ll be able to find the app in the App Store and the Google Play store. If you don’t want the update because you like the old Pulse, the old version will continue to work until the end of the year, giving you a chance to find something you like better.
In other LinkedIn news, the company is giving away free business training courses through the recently acquired Lynda.com with a trial period.