Proper communication is the heart of human connection and also a bond that transforms a group into a team.
After lagging behind for years, LinkedIn provides its users with an improved messaging system that makes online chatting fun and easy. CEO Jeff Weiner is overseeing a series of upgrades that include redesign of existing elements and addition of new features.
In a blog post, the company announced that beginning Sept. 1, its 380 million users have access to a simplified and intuitive chat-style interface. The aim is to revitalize the outdated inbox and make people interact more casually with their work peers. "InMail," the option for Premium members to contact users outside their connection circle, will remain unchanged.
"We know many of you have been asking for this ability, and we've taken a thoughtful approach to reflect the evolving ways professionals are communicating with one another today, as well as the different ways our members are interacting with each other across our international markets," wrote Mark Hull, LinkedIn's director of product management.
The network took heed of other social media platforms and emulated their chat-style apps, including popular elements such as stickers, emoji and GIFs to make the conversations more colorful and relaxed. The new inbox setup is available for desktop or mobile devices, with a few taps on the smartphone you can find the relevant conversation and start contributing.
"To make conversations more compelling" there will be voice and video conference options. Transfer of documents or other work-related files is now possible through the interface, meaning to boost workflow efficiency. Due to these improvements, not only will people login to LinkedIn more frequently, but they will spend more time on the professional network.
"We've also organized all the messages around the people that matter to you." This means that some discussions are more relevant than others and will receive a higher priority in the conversation list. The users receive different notifications, depending on the type of discussion they are in.
The potential impact of the new LinkedIn messaging system is significant: most people are turning from work colleagues into friends, which means the chat can contribute to a happier, more productive work environment.
