Episode 188

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Published on:

25th Nov 2017

LinkedIn is Cooler Than Instagram!

Welcome to episode 188, this week I had some very sad news, one of the clipper race crew was swept overboard and tragically lost his life - devastating for his family and also extremely unnerving for all the other crews. I can’t begin to imagine how they carry on from this.

It highlights just how dangerous this race is and impressed on me even more just what Brendan Hall had to go through when he won the race previously.


Brendan incidentally released his new speaker showreel this week;


I had an interesting chat with Stoke School student Tim Collins who has been using LinkedIn along with some of his friends recently and has been impressed with the authenticity and kindness shown to him by LinkedIn members……(give it time Tim!). You can hear that interview later in the episode but firstly.


Interesting Stuff I Saw This Week


Trends in marketing investments: LinkedIn starts to establish status? Women Are Reminding People That LinkedIn Is Not A Dating Website Following "Creepy" Messages LinkedIn pledges $10 million for affordable housing. A charitable act or protecting their own interests?


New Features


Some people have reported seeing a new design to the search page. This is clearly of on LinkedIn annoying A/B tests but doesn’t it look awful?


You can now embed posts into your website, just as I have done several times in this post, including the video below. This can be done on anyone’s posts including your own but isn’t available to everyone yet (roll out). Simply click on the 3 dots as seen below and then copy the HTML code


LinkedIn are now officially launching their new ‘Career Advice’ feature which is closely allied to the mentoring feature. More in this video;


What You Saw On LinkedIn This Week


This could become an interesting new feature if you get involved! The best way to improve the quality and reach of our content is to observe other successful posts. So why not use LinkedInformed as a place to share any great posts you saw last week.


I really liked this one sent in my listener Carl this week.


I can’t wait to see how that develops!


So from now, when you spot something interesting, take a note of the url and send it to me. That way we can all learn from each others feeds


My LinkedIn Survey


I announced this last week and I was terrified that my target of 1000 respondents was going to be too hard to reach…..I might have been right!


Over the last week I have managed to gather 300 respondents but that leaves me woefully short so…. I NEED YOUR HELP!


Please take a few mins out of your day to complete the survey and then share it with your network.


A Millennial’s view - LinkedIn is Authentic, collaborative and refreshingly ‘real’


Listener Anna McAfee pointed out to me a video posted by 3 school kids made while they are waiting for parent evening to start. The person that posted it was Tim Collins, so I thought it would be interesting to get him on the show!


I really enjoyed hearing what an 18 year old makes of LinkedIn, especially in comparison to Facebook (old and dated) and Instagram (lacks authenticity)


This is Tim’s Video post


I love the way he was brave enough to know that is was far from ‘perfect’ or ‘professional’ and post it anyway…….if an 18 year old can then why can’t you? (assuming you have video)


And this is the post he referred to when talking about ‘it’s about who you know’


No questions for this week. Please feel to drop me a line or leave a voicemail of you want your question featured on the show.

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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About your host

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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.