LinkedIn is testing a new ‘Current status’ option which would enable users to share what they’re up to at any given time with a one-line summary that would appear in different surfaces within the app.
As you can see in this example, shared by reverse engineering expert Jane Manchun Wong, the ‘Current status’ field allows for a 75 character summary, which would then be displayed when people hover over your profile within the app.
LinkedIn has confirmed the test, providing SMT with this statement:
“We’re always exploring new ways to improve our members’ experience on LinkedIn, including features to help best represent themselves on their LinkedIn profile and with their LinkedIn community.”
Similar options have been tested in various apps – Twitter, for example, has experimented with a status indicator as part of its expanded presentation options.
Facebook has also been working on status indicators, most notably within Instagram’s Threads app, which it launched last October. A key element of Threads is its status options, which enable you to showcase what you’re up to at any given time, while ‘Auto Status’ provides an update on what you’re doing based on location info, without you entering a thing. Facebook’s been testing the same functionality in Messenger.
On LinkedIn, it could provide another way to promote event attendance in order to meet up with people in real life. Well, not right now, of course, but in future, when we can return to physical events – you can imagine that it might be beneficial for LinkedIn members to add in a “@Dreamforce” status, for example, which connections could then come across within the app.
That seems to be the main functionality here, providing more insight into professional attendances in order to facilitate connection. Of course, there’s a range of ways it could, potentially, be utilized, but sharing meet-up opportunities seems like the most obvious.
It could also be a conversation starter, if you’re working on a specific project, or a way to express your personality, with light-hearted updates.
At this stage, LinkedIn hasn’t shared any plans on a possible roll-out, but it may, eventually, provide another way to connect.
