LinkedIn Unveils Major Pulse Integration, Replaces 'LinkedIn Today'

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By Kurt Wagner2013-11-13 14:08:57 UTC

Pulse, the customizable news reader that LinkedIn acquired in April, just got a major promotion.

LinkedIn announced on Wednesday that its popular news curation feature, LinkedIn Today, has been replaced on both desktop and mobile by Pulse, which now provides the backend technology for all content surfacing on the platform.

The transition comes alongside an update to the Pulse mobile app, which will more tightly integrate the news reader with LinkedIn.

The app features some major changes highlighted by the company a few weeks back, including the ability for users to login using their LinkedIn ID. This allows Pulse to return more relevant content, taking into account a user's professional interests and those they follow on LinkedIn. Beginning Wednesday, any channels a user follows on LinkedIn will sync with their Pulse app if they use your LinkedIn login.

Pulse also allows users to comment and Like articles from the mobile app, something that wasn't available before. If the user is logged in with his or her LinkedIn ID, these interactions will then appear on their profile page similar to an update.

In many ways, the content that appeared previously under "LinkedIn Today" will remain the same, just with a new section header. The technology that surfaces this content is not far removed from where it was before, according to a spokesperson. It simply includes more signals within the algorithm, incorporating a user's Pulse habits, too.

Wednesday's move does two things. First, it brings Pulse, a company LinkedIn paid $90 million for back in April, into the picture in a big way by rebranding one of the site's most popular features with the Pulse name. The first thing users will see when they sign in to LinkedIn will be "Pulse recommends this news for you." Users who like what they read on LinkedIn now know where they can get that content at all times — from the Pulse app.

Second, LinkedIn is making a big push toward more personalized content for users. By integrating Pulse and LinkedIn.com, the site is leveraging the wealth of data it has from both platforms to return articles and news that it hopes users will care about. Because that's what keeps people coming back, after all.

LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner said last month that mobile will play a major part in LinkedIn's future. Part of setting up that future is integrating the company's mobile news reader with the rest of its services. That's what LinkedIn accomplished Wednesday.

The new Pulse app is available now for both iOS and Android.

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Image: LinkedIn