LinkedIn with curb appeal

Who said the housing slump couldn’t be overcome with a new coat of paint? Well the same theory applies to your favorite professional networking site. The jury may still be out on this, but the LinkedIn home page is in Beta test with a completely new coat of paint, with one or two new upgrades as well.

The redesigned page boasts a much better information architecture, particularly as it relates to navigating to core functionality like the inbox, profile, contacts, and groups. Additionally it provides a nice and concise snapshot view of the user’s profile with profile photo, # of contacts, and a summary of the number of views in a given week.

It is the middle of the page which gets a bit diluted for me. The Inbox most recent 5 messages I get; however, it is the box below which contains a summary of news feeds for a company that is at the bottom of my profile and really not pertinent or newsworthy right now, and there is no intuitive way to change this that I can find right now. I struggle with why I need it at all on my home page. It is followed by Network Updates, which has proven very useful and insightful and something I would value seeing higher in the hierarchy of information on my home page.

Finally in the right rail is a part-time house promo ad highlighting some of the other new features including LinkedIn tips, as well as the new LinkedIn mobile (http://m.LinkedIn.com).
More importantly, what follows is what I would have expected for the center body of content, which is an AJAX enabled set of modules/widgets that I can move around, reorder, add and subtract to this rail. Perhaps as this whole page is noted as being beta capability that maybe the flexibility of the rest of the page is coming.

Overall, the new home page is a step in the right direction to make LinkedIn more accessible, but it is not clear whether it will help them grow to their next plateau of being ready for an IPO or an acquisition target.

About the Author
Kevin McFall, is a media executive, with deep expertise and knowledge of digital product management and business development. Currently serving as President of Red Clay Digital, a consultancy providing guidance to company’s seeking to leverage online, mobile and other digital platforms for partnerships, customer acquisition and engagement. Prior to his current role, Kevin was co-founder and Vice President of Products & Content for RushmoreDrive.com a division of IAC. Prior to joining IAC, Kevin led digital product & affiliate programs for Zap2it.com TV & Movie guidance service (Tribune Company) as the Director of Products & Partnerships. His career has also positively impacted the American Bar Association, Sara Lee & Digital Equipment Corporations. Kevin is the immediate past president of the University of Illinois at Urbana’s Black Alumni Network, and is a lifetime member of the Alumni Association. Kevin currently serves on the Urbana Campus Alumni Advisory Board & on the board of the Inner City Computer Stars (icstars.org) Foundation. Kevin is an active member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity & several other national professional associations including the Minority Media Executives, Black MBAs, & NAMIC. Kevin earned an MBA from the Sperling School of Business at the University of Phoenix, and a B.S. in Computer Science & Mathematics, from the University of Illinois at Champaign.
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