It’s the weekend so here’s a quick weekend post on the new LinkedIn app.
First things first: It’s an app, it’s for iOS so it lives in the iTunes store. Pretty simple, so far and so simple to find I wont even bore you with the link. It’s also free, so there is no need to worry about app to cash value ratio calculations. Worst-case scenario you can just delete it and pretend you were never foolish enough to download it in the first place.
Once it’s downloaded, fire it up, enter you LinkedIn username and password (or register for an account if for some bizarre reason you haven’t already and your good to go.
The load screen does a little song and dance, which serves no purpose other than to allow the developer to brag to his mates in the pub about the great song and dance load screen he made for no apparent reason. That fanfare sets the scene and presents you with four key options.
Updates: Does what it says on the tin and provides you with a flow of your LinkedIn updates.
You: All your personal information, recent activity and connections.
Groups & More: A window into all of your groups.
Inbox: Errm, your inbox.
The UI is really well designed and thought out and all four sections are well designed and deliver just what you would expect. The only issue I had was how to get back a level (you press the arrow at the top of the screen). This really is a great example of an app well done, and a pleasant surprise among a sea of mediocre user interfaces and dubious usefulness out there.
With over 425’000 apps now available to download it would be nice to see some control mechanism that rewarded quality and pushed apps like this to the top of the pile. You could argue that the ratings systems does this organically, but in my experience ratings are often no more than bitchy remarks by rival developers / businesses and do little to give a true indication of quality.
This is a great app. If your still using LinkedIn, and have an iOS device then you should probably stop reading and download it now. When you have done that, you can read my post about maximising your LinkedIn profile and turn yourself into a kick-ass, digital savvy, networked professional. While your at it look me up and Link in to me. Im always keen to connect and share ideas, thoughts and recommendations.