LinkedIn has launched a new social news product designed to let users see the top news in the fields they are interested in, as shared by those in said fields. It’s called LinkedIn Today.
The three basic selling points of the services (more details in the video) are:
1. What your connections and coworkers – people you know – are sharing.
2. What your industry peers are sharing.
3. What stories are interesting to a wider audience, outside of your industry.
“If you only have five minutes to catch up on news, LinkedIn Today can help you cut through all the clutter, so you can discover the top headlines you need to read to be better informed everyday,” says LinkedIn’s Liz Reaves Walker.
LinkedIn Today is pitched as a way to “cut through the clutter,” but it could also be looked at as adding to it – another site throwing news links at me – some I’ve already seen from other sources/aggregators, some I haven’t. Some I care about, some I don’t. That’s not to say it’s a bad product. There is plenty to like about it. But is it going to keep me from my other news consumption habits? Not likely. At best, it seems like it will just be another thing to check on a regular basis.
Still, LinkedIn (and others) should be applauded for its efforts. It seems everyone is trying to crack the social news nut today. The bad news is that I don’t think anyone’s accomplished this to any degree of perfection, including LinkedIn. The good news is that there are more and more choices (also including LinkedIn) that will help people find ways of “cutting through the clutter” that work for them on a personal level.
LinkedIn Today is launching as part of the LinkedIn iPhone app. It shows you what your connections are reading and lets you save articles.