The popularity of TikTok and its addictive short videos has changed the social media scene. Many popular platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and even Netflix have tried to replicate its success by incorporating similar video feeds. Even LinkedIn, which is mainly used for professional networking, is now introducing a TikTok-style video feature.
LinkedIn confirmed to TechCrunch on Wednesday that they are currently testing a new feature, which is a vertical video feed similar to TikTok’s short video clips. This feature was discovered by Austin Null, a strategy director at influencer agency McKinney. He shared a brief demonstration showing that the video feed is located in LinkedIn’s navigation bar, under a separate “Video” tab.
Once users tap into the new video portal, they are greeted by a familiar sight – a vertically oriented feed of short videos that can be swiped through endlessly. Users can like, comment on, or share the career-focused clips just as they would on other video-centric platforms.
While the functionality mimics TikTok and its innumerable clones, the content itself maintains LinkedIn’s professional tenor. Don’t expect to find any dance challenges or comedian sketches here. Instead, the videos that surfaced are squarely centered on careers, professional development, and imparting workplace wisdom.
“Videos are becoming one of our users’ desired formats for learning from professionals and experts,” a LinkedIn spokesperson told TechCrunch, citing the rationale behind the experimental feed designed to boost video engagement and discoverability.
The rise of TikTok has minted a fresh breed of content creators dishing out advice and anecdotes about job searches, career growth, and navigating professional life. LinkedIn’s newly incubated video hub potentially offers these career-focused creators a new stage to share their clips and expand their audiences.
It’s easy to envision the platform potentially introducing monetization capabilities to entice top creators to prioritize posting on LinkedIn over other outlets. The company remained tight-lipped about any such plans, but revenue-sharing models have become the norm as platforms vie for the most compelling exclusive video content.
Of course, not everyone may welcome the humdrum addition of yet another infinite trough of vertical video. As TikTok’s explosive success has prompted tech’s biggest giants to shamelessly mimic its format across their own platforms, critics have bemoaned the lack of originality and bombarding of users with a ceaseless torrent of same-y video feeds across every app.
For casual LinkedIn users simply looking to secure a new job or make professional connections, having to wade through the ranks of career video creators may feel like an unwelcome intrusion.
For now, the video feed remains in limited testing, so most users won’t encounter it yet when they open the LinkedIn app. But if the initial experiment proves fruitful, we could all soon find ourselves mindlessly scrolling through bite-sized career content – whether we like it or not.
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