VentureBeat reports that LinkedIn is experimenting with location-based features similar to those offered Foursquare. This information comes courtesy of LinkedIn designers Mauroof Ahmed and Moses Ting and first reported by VentureBeat.
LinkedIn’s latest experiment comes at a time when the company is actively trying to boost engagement amongst its users. LinkedIn has made other comparable moves lately, including the introduction of redesigned Web profiles, and the launch of LinkedIn’s new Connected app.
Ahmed and Ting tell VentureBeat that LinkedIn may extend the “signals” in its Connected app with updates like location alerts, moving beyond generic professional alerts, like job anniversaries.
Ahmed describes theses alerts by illustrating how knowing the location of your connections could help to spark conversation:
If you were connected with me, and I knew you were in Zimbabwe, I would know that and that would be kind of cool. That’s like a quick way for me to send you a message and say “hey, what’s your view right now? What do you see when you look out the window?”
And that’s something that both builds our relationship and at the same time it’s something very timely because we know where you are. And that’s something we want to optimize for, and sort of really strengthen individual relationships at a deeper level than going for breadth.
Ahmed also tells VentureBeat that he’s intrigued by the idea of using the new location based features at conferences:
Let’s say you’re at Google I/O or WWDC…are there people here that you want to talk to — that you want to connect with? And just by opening the app you can start conversations that way and reach out to people. Wherever that goes, that would be pretty Amazing.
Further details about these experiments was not disclosed. They sound promising so far, do you think that including more personal, location-centric updates into the LinkedIn app could help strengthen your professional connections?
