Last week, LinkedIn announced it will acquire Pulse, a news reader application. If the news made you wonder what use LinkedIn would have for Pulse, it may be helpful to consider it alongside other moves LinkedIn has made during the past couple years:
- The May 2011 launch of LinkedIn Today, which delivers news and perspectives to users based on their industry and interests
- LinkedIn’s May 2012 acquisition of SlideShare, a content sharing site primarily focused on presentations
- The October 2012 launch of its “influencer” initiative, which allows users to follow thought leaders who provide content exclusively to LinkedIn
Perhaps the best evidence, however, is provided by Deep Nishar, LinkedIn’s Senior Vice President, Products & User Experience. As he said in a blog post about the acquisition, LinkedIn wants to be your hub for content creation, distribution, and consumption:
We believe LinkedIn can be the definitive professional publishing platform – where all professionals come to consume content and where publishers come to share their content. Millions of professionals are already starting their day on LinkedIn to glean the professional insights and knowledge they need to make them great at their jobs. We believe we can help all professionals make smarter and more informed business decisions leveraging all the great business knowledge flowing through LinkedIn in the form of news, Influencer posts, industry updates, discussions, comments and more.
So, could LinkedIn serves as your morning newspaper? Well, in a world where Facebook can become an Android user’s home page, it just might be possible–especially if LinkedIn keeps acquiring companies that have build a loyal user base.
The LinkedInstitute 