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Add this: LinkedIn must pay $13 million to annoyed users
Networking site LinkedIn has agreed to pay out $13 million for overzealous marketing of its services on behalf of users. You've likely received one of the emails, which appear to come from a contact (below), saying something like, "Hi, I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn." That line actually makes a fine universal cartoon caption, but LinkedIn then sent several similar follow-up emails without saying it would do so in its terms of service. Many users felt that made them look needy (the email mentions your contact's name no less than five times), which is why they launched a class-action suit against the company in Lucy Koh's California court.
Windows 10's Cortana taps into LinkedIn to cure your meeting anxiety
Microsoft's Windows 10 virtual assistant Cortana is getting even smarter today by integrating LinkedIn. If you're using Windows Mail and Calendar for meetings, you can now connect Cortana to your LinkedIn account, which will surface details about the people you're meeting with in Cortana's reminders. That includes information like photos (helpful if you're not good with faces), job titles and a quick link to their entire LinkedIn profile. Naturally, you'll also be able to send a LinkedIn request right from Cortana reminders. This is the sort of integration mobile mail and calendar apps have been including for years now, so it's not exactly new, but it'll still be useful for Windows 10 users. And it's also a fitting example of how third-party companies can tap into Cortana.
The awful LinkedIn inbox is now a modern messaging service
LinkedIn is undoubtably a valuable, even essential, service these days, but that doesn't meant the site is all that easy to use. If you've ever shaken your head in frustration at the mess that is the LinkedIn Inbox, we have some good news for you: The company has just completely redesigned its messaging experience. Gone is the stodgy old email-style inbox, a feature that was reminiscent of the worst parts of old web mail. In its place is a chat-style interface that LinkedIn expects will encourage shorter, quicker back-and-forth conversations. It's along the lines of Facebook Messenger, Hangouts and every other web-based messaging app you've been using to communicate with your friends and colleagues.
LinkedIn's Lookup app finds co-workers with the right skills
LinkedIn doesn't just want to help you find a job or a new hire -- it thinks it can contribute even after you're gainfully employed. The company's new LinkedIn Lookup app for iPhones (there's no mention of Android yet) helps you find and contact co-workers using criteria ranging from names to skill sets. That could be particularly handy if you're trying to find someone outside your department with the right experience, or if you're just curious about that new CEO. Think of Lookup as a lightweight, inter-office social network. It won't replace Facebook or group chat systems like Slack, but it could be the easiest way to introduce yourself to your fellow staffers.
LinkedIn brings back contact export feature after user backlash
LinkedIn has discovered that folks really don't like waiting for their contact info. A couple of days ago, the company removed its CSV and VCF file export tool, supposedly to discourage third-parties from "scraping" user data. You could still get the data by requesting an archive from the company, but that process took up to 72 hours. LinkedIn's business-oriented community was not thrilled, so the company quickly backpedaled, saying "we've heard you loud and clear... effective immediately, we have turned the CSV download link back on." However, once it gets the wait time for archival requests down to "within minutes," the feature will be turned off again.
LinkedIn's making it harder to download your account data
Sometimes things are way harder than they should be. If you're a LinkedIn user, the networking site is now making it more difficult to download your contact list and other personal information. Instead of being an instant process, as is the case with Facebook or Google's products, LinkedIn (quietly) announced you'll have to wait up to three days to get that data from its service. The change, which took effect yesterday, also applies to additional account info -- like your LinkedIn updates, daily activity, IP records and searches. So plan ahead, folks, because you're going to be waiting and waiting.
LinkedIn's latest acquisition will train you for your dream job
LinkedIn has always been helpful if you're seeking a job, but now it can train you for one too, thanks to a $1.5 billion deal to acquire Lynda.com. That site offers nearly 3,500 courses by subscription on subjects ranging from web design to leadership body language, all taught by industry experts. Citing the obvious synergy between the companies, LinkedIn said that the deal would help job-seekers "know what skills are need for available jobs in a desired city... and then be prompted to take the relevant and accredited courses to acquire this skill."
Fewer Brits are using social media, but those who do can't put down their phone
While you might access your Facebook feed or Twitter timeline numerous times a day, as a general rule, social media use in Britain has actually fallen over the last year. In a new research report, UK regulator Ofcom found that the number of people signing on to their favourite social networking sites each week dropped from 65 percent in September 2013 to 56 percent in October 2014. In fact, the UK saw the biggest drop across the nine countries compared in Ofcom's study, which polled 9,000 people across the US, Japan, China and most of the big European nations. As part of its research, the watchdog looked into how Britain ranks against other countries in terms of communication, which includes how many people access social media services, how often they log on and what they want from them. Unsurprisingly, it's the younger users that are driving social in the UK and they're using smartphones to get their fix. According to Ofcom, almost three-quarters of 18 to 24 year-olds used social networks at least once a week, while only just under half of 55 to 64 year-olds did the same (the second biggest difference between age groups in Europe). Those younger users have also helped the UK remain second only to the US for most active mobile social networkers: 40 percent of internet users admitted they open social apps on their phone every day, matching last year's figures. Overall, 64 percent of internet users accessed social networks using their mobile, while 62 percent of respondents admitted they did so on their desktop. But what sites are they accessing? Facebook leads the pack by a significant margin, with 68 percent reach, followed by Twitter's 25 percent share and LinkedIn and Google+ trailing slightly behind with 20 percent.
Tech companies ask the Senate to pass surveillance reform law
Google, Apple, Microsoft, Twitter and Facebook. Normally these companies are mortal enemies. But, when it comes to curbing government surveillance, they're all on the same page. They've joined forces to form the Reform Government Surveillance coalition. The group is calling the US Senate to pass the USA FREEDOM Act, which could go up for vote as early as this week. The bill would enact a number of important reforms regarding the government's collection and use of data. For one it would end the practice of bulk metadata collection from the internet. It would also demand greater transparency from both the government and the tech companies themselves.
MessageHub tries to be your one stop for all social networks
MessageHub wants to be you go-to app for all of your digital communications. That's not an exaggeration, I mean all. It supports Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yahoo and more. It also supports email accounts Gmail and Outlook. If you set up all of your accounts in this app, you could keep up with everything going on in all of them in one place. Well, that's the theory anyway. But we'll come back to that in a moment. MessageHub is free and is designed for both iPhone and iPad and requires iOS 7.1 and up. On first run, you are given the option of signing in via Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. This links you up to your first account. From there you can link up as many others as you want. Of course, the more you add, the more will appear in your "Everyone" section. I find that often Twitter or Facebook alone can be like drinking from a firehose. Combined views (especially when they include my email inboxes) are simply overwhelming to me. This is why services like Facebook, Twitter, and others provide the capability to create lists of people. I can (and have) create lists for the most important people in my life so I am sure not to miss an important update from them, lost in the noise of the latest meme everyone is reposting. Thus, Facebook and Twitter become more manageable for me and I can catch up with fast glances through the day rather than getting sucked into the vortex of endless streaming content. MessageHub provides none of this. With this app, it is everything at all times. Worse, the main view tries to utilize white space to make the interface breathe but it has the effect of only showing two to three posts at a time making me have to constantly scroll to get through the sheer mass of content. One handy, if somewhat confusing feature is the "Conversations" section. This aggregates together the posts of a given person (sometimes) and conversations held in Facebook messaging or via Twitter, etc. I honestly couldn't quite figure out which it is supposed to be when. Sometimes I see a person's recent posts, sometimes conversations I've had with them, and often nothing at all. For example, I have had conversations with my wife on Facebook messages and she has also posted a few things in the last day. When I look at her entry in Conversations (created a few weeks back), nothing is displayed (and this is despite the fact that in the list of conversations, there is an excerpt from a previous message one of us sent the other. So, in the end, I get what this app is trying to do but the confusing Conversations section, the large amount of white space limiting posts per screen, and the lack of support for lists (you can create groups in Conversations which approximates this feature but I could not get it to reliably work) gets in the way of its goals. MessageHub is free and if it is actively maintained and improved it may become quite useful.
Weave app brings Tinder-style swipes to job hunting
Tinder's swipe-able interface is such a hit, that a lot of new apps are copying it. One new, notable app among them all is called Weave, which is essentially (there's no other way to describe it) a more boring Tinder to find fellow professionals instead of Friday-night dates. In fact, it's so promising that its developers have just raised $630,000 in seed funding. If you're thinking, "But I already have LinkedIn!", well, it works a bit differently from the more traditional social network. To use the iOS or Android app, you'll need to log in using your LinkedIn credentials, after which it'll pair you with professionals in your area. Just like in Tinder, just swipe left to pass, or right to initiate a chat or express interest in meeting up.
Facebook and many other tech players looking to high school for interns
Internships aren't just for college students and bad movie premises anymore. Top tech companies like Facebook and LinkedIn are seeking interns at a younger age than ever, with the idea of converting high school-age talent into staff. Before you get all wound up -- cool it! -- know that these interns are being paid generously for their work: in the range of $5K to $8K each month. Some are courted during high school, with internships taking place the summer between high school's end and freshman year of college. Some are courted even earlier: Bloomberg reports at least one instance where an Oregon startup had pre-high school student as an intern. "I felt like age shouldn't hold me back, as long as I can code," intern James Anderson said. He's now 15.
Angela Ahrendts discusses her transition to Apple
Angela Ahrendts is an inspiration for anyone grew up in a small town with dreams of a better life. From her humble roots in New Palestine, Indiana she worked her way through the fashion industry, eventually climbing to a position as CEO of Burberry in 2006. Ahrendts held that position until earlier this year when she left the company to join Apple as Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores. In a new feature published on LinkedIn, Ahrendts discussed her transition to the team at Apple, and the insights that have come with the move. It's a fascinating look at overcoming the challenges a person discovers during the first thirty days of a new job. You can read the whole piece right here, but there was one particular passage that stuck out and that we'd like to share with you. Among the pieces of useful advice she offers up, the most useful may seem counterintuitive to the overachievers among us: "Stay in your lane." "Stay in your lane." You've been hired because you bring a certain expertise to the team and the company. Try to resist putting additional or undue pressure on yourself trying to learn it all from day one. It's human nature to feel insecure about everything you "don't know". By staying focused on your core competencies you will be able to contribute much sooner, add greater value long term, and enjoy and have more peace especially in the early days. The rest of the article is full of similarly useful observations. If you're starting a new career or moving to another job, Ahrendts' words can provide some useful advice in the long run. You can read the entire text over at LinkedIn.
Marriott and MIT want to turn your hotel into a social network
If you travel often, you know that it's hard to socialize at hotels; short of a chance encounter, you'll probably end up drinking at the bar by yourself. MIT and Marriott may have a better solution in store with their Six Degrees app. The mobile software uses LinkedIn to find connections between you and other guests. You'll know if someone is a college alum, works at the same company or shares your love of scotch. Staff can organize events if there are enough people with common interests, and there's even an LED-equipped table that lights up a line between visitors when there's a match.
LinkedIn to face lawsuit for sending repeat invitations to your contacts
If you've given professional-networking site LinkedIn access to your email account, you may be aware that the site uses your contact list to recruit new members. What you probably weren't aware of, though, is that LinkedIn can send your contacts invitation emails followed by reminder emails -- at the risk of making you look like a needy user who can't take a hint. This practice is at the crux of an upcoming lawsuit against the company, with a District Judge in San Jose, California ruling that the repeat emails could injure users' reputations.
The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for May 7, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
LinkedIn and Evernote partner to make business cards useful again
Fact: everyone likes doing business with the guy who remembers them. With that in mind, LinkedIn and Evernote just announced a new partnership to bring the Rolodex into the 21st century, and it all starts with a photo of a standard business card. Evernote will instantly digitize it and bring in any relevant LinkedIn info. You're then given the option to connect with that CEO, secretary or digital prophet on LinkedIn or add their contact info to your address book. However, things get interesting as your business relationship blossoms. Over time, you can add things like audio from a meeting, documents, or even key emails with him or her to the card's page in Evernote.
10 years of social media's biggest players and payouts by the numbers
Facebook launched ten years ago in February 2004. A month later, so did this site. Social media hasn't, doesn't and won't stay still. As Myspace rises, Friendster declines. The pattern's repeated itself a few times already, and even Google hasn't quite cracked the magic social network formula, at least not yet. The crown currently belongs to Facebook, a company that's made some big, big startup purchases on the way, although Twitter continues to pack (arguably) more influence. A whole lot has happened in the last decade, but we've tried to squeeze the more interesting parts into something a little more visual. Check out the full 'graphic, right after the break.
LinkedIn now allows you to block other users
The ability to block people on social networks seems like a basic idea, but that's one thing LinkedIn didn't have prior to today. Now, thanks to a new (and aptly named) Member Blocking feature, LinkedIn will start letting you block other members on the site. LinkedIn points out that while having an option to block users may sound quite simple, it wasn't easy to bake into its product. Paul Rockwell, LinkedIn's head of Trust & Safety, cited the need to research different use case scenarios, and coming up with the right interface as some of the reasons why this tool took a while to develop. Member Blocking is currently rolling out to all profiles, and thus it shouldn't be too long before you can go to town on those unwanted connections.
LinkedIn opens its blog publishing platform to everyone
A handful of big-shot professionals have long had the freedom to express themselves through LinkedIn's blogging platform, but most careerists have had to sit on the sidelines. Starting today, though, just about everyone can have their voices heard -- LinkedIn is opening its publishing platform to all members. Users will soon have the chance to write long-form posts and attract followers from beyond their immediate networks. Only a fortunate 25,000 have access as of this writing, but the company plans to expand publishing privileges to the entire user base in the weeks ahead.
