LinkedIn is about to look a lot different
SAN FRANCISCO -- LinkedIn unveiled a redesigned version of its website Thursday, which adds new messaging features -- including bots -- as well as a simplified feed.
The company also introduced a new educational product called LinkedIn Learning and previewed new messaging bots.
The redesigned website is meant to bring LinkedIn's desktop experience more in line with its mobile app. During a press event at LinkedIn's San Francisco office Thursday, Ryan Roslansky, the company's VP of Consumer Product, noted that the current version of LinkedIn's website "feels very disjointed" compared with the more recently-redesigned mobile app.
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The redesign should address those issues as well as add a few new features. The new look will include a feed that is cleaner and surfaces more relevant information. The website also promises to be more responsive and easier to navigate, with better search features. The company didn't say exactly when the new website would launch, but that it was coming this year.
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The company also plans to introduce messaging bots to its platform. Initially, these bots will be focused around scheduling -- executives previewed an experience that will allow users to arrange and schedule meetings via bots -- but CEO Jeff Weiner suggested Microsoft could play a role in the company's future bot plans.
"This is an area where we're going to be able to do some really interesting things with Microsoft," Weiner said, saying their plan is to focus on "specific use cases" to start. "Over time when you start to introduce the Microsoft library of capabilities there are some really interesting things that are gong to happen."
The company is also looking at other ways to make its messaging smarter and previewed new contextual messaging features that make it easier to find the right person to contact depending on what you're doing on LinkedIn. If you're looking at a job opening for example, the messaging interface will suggest contacts you know at that company to message.
Additionally, the company unveiled an all-new educational product called LinkedIn Learning, the product of LinkedIn's $1.5 billion acquisition of lynda.com last year. Available now to LinkedIn's premium and enterprise users, it combines LinkedIn's features with lynda.com's library of educational videos.
Karissa was Mashable's Senior Tech Reporter, and is based in San Francisco. She covers social media platforms, Silicon Valley, and the many ways technology is changing our lives. Her work has also appeared in Wired, Macworld, Popular Mechanics, and The Wirecutter. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and watching too many cat videos on Instagram. Follow her on Twitter @karissabe.
