Episode 39

full
Published on:

1st Nov 2014

39. The Spooky Halloween One!

News

Apparently Microsoft attempted to buy LinkedIn for $500m prior to their IPO in 2011 but decided the price was too high. LinkedIn would cost them closer to $35 billion today!

Sony have collaborated with LinkedIn to produce a business card reading app that synchronises with LinkedIn in the way that CardMunch used to. Does anyone know of any other apps that do the same?

LinkedIn have announced their 3rd quarter results.

332 millions users

90 million unique visitors

28 billion page views

45% growth in revenue


Analysts impressed with the results but not the outlook!


Commentary

LinkedIn have really been pushing skills again with this article being just one of many over the last few weeks.

I have been very impressed with Conspire, a new FREE service that allows you to manage your contacts by analysing your email activity.

You can now add attachments to LinkedIn messages.

Publishing on LinkedIn. Is it really worth it? As more people obtain publishing rights on LinkedIn, the number of views per post seems to be dropping for everyone and this makes me question whether they are still worth doing?

Chris Gaborit is just a normal, regular LinkedIn user who started publishing in May and achieved an amazing result with over 300,000 views of the above post (click on it to read the full post) but over the last couple of months he has seen his posts viewed less and less...this seems to be a consistent story for most people.

His average number of views per post has been the following since starting in May;

May 2014 - 54,911

June 2014 - 28,260

July 2014 - 6115

September - 418

October - 2696

Maybe we are better off blogging on our own websites and promoting these articles via status updates?

Question

Why are LinkedIn persisting with Skills & endorsements when everyone knows they are a joke?

This question really got me thinking and my conclusion is that the big data that skills give them is something they intend to monetise. Endorsements are merely a red herring designed to encourage us to add more skills to our profiles!

Mentioned in this episode:

This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.

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About the Podcast

Informed: the podcast for LinkedIn® users
A podcast for anyone interested in LinkedIn® best practice
"Informed" is for you if you'd like to understand more about how LinkedIn works so that you can be an effective user of the platform.

It's hard to know whom to believe with so many self-appointed gurus out there telling you the latest hacks for going viral and earning 7-figure deals. And even LinkedIn's own publications often don't speak to the reality of using the platform.

But for those who see past superficial promises and sanitised reports, this podcast provides evidence and thoughtful opinion. With a track record of more than 10 years of sensible, no-nonsense advice about honest best practice for LinkedIn, Informed is a trusted source of insight by many thousands of regular listeners.

The show was created by Mark Williams, who's affectionately known as "Mr LinkedIn". Mark retired in late 2025 and handed over the reins of the show to John Espirian, the relentlessly helpful® LinkedIn nerd. John is a LinkedIn trainer and consultant, the founder of the Espresso+ community, the creator of the UpLift Live conference (the UK's original event dedicated to LinkedIn best practice), and the author of the personal branding handbook Content DNA.

John's reputation is for getting to the point and for not being a salesy douche canoe, so you can expect short, sharp episodes with zero ads or sponsored slots. This also is NOT an interview show, so if you've read this far then please don't pitch yourself for a guest appearance. However, you're welcome to get in touch if you have a LinkedIn question you'd like John to cover on the show. (To do that, search for the "Informed podcast" company page on LinkedIn and send a message.)

This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the LinkedIn® corporation. John Espirian is an independent trainer and does not work for LinkedIn® – while it would be great to have LinkedIn's endorsement, the show's independence from the corporation means you, the listener, are never fed an airbrushed political spiel.
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John Espirian

Relentlessly helpful® LinkedIn® nerd, trainer and consultant who specialises in LinkedIn best practice for individuals, small businesses and corporates. I wrote the personal branding handbook Content DNA, I founded the Espresso+ online community for small business owners and I'm the creator of the UK's original independent conference on LinkedIn best practice, UpLift Live.