LinkedIn Tests Alternate Feed of Updates From Only Your Connections

LinkedIn’s testing out a new way to potentially drive more engagement in the app, by giving users an option to switch to a feed of only updates from people in their first degree network.

As explained by LinkedIn:

“We’re always experimenting with new product experiences for our members - including exploring ways for members to control the content they see on their feed. The new tabs at the top of your feed is a test that allows you to filter content on your Feed.”

LinkedIn’s tabs experiment will provide two tabs to choose from, either “All”, which will be the default, and is your current LinkedIn feed, and “My Network”, which will only display content from your connections, as well as people and pages you follow.

The format sounds a lot like LinkedIn’s "Discover" feed experiment, which it tried out with some users back in 2022, providing more options to control your LinkedIn feed.

As you can see in these screenshots, that test gave users a range of feed tabs to choose from, so you could hone in on specific elements of interest.

This new test is more limited, in that it only gives you access to an additional “My Network” tab. But it’s the same idea in principle, providing a means to more specifically check in with the latest content from people you know, which could help to boost in-network engagement.

Which makes sense. Previous research conducted by LinkedIn has shown that users find content posted by their peers to be the most engaging, while LinkedIn members are also statistically more likely to engage with content shared by colleagues, both former and current.

As such, providing a specific listing of just this material could drive more engagement, by enabling users to keep up with the latest news and updates from people they know, as opposed to a more broad-ranging, algorithmically curated feed.

Though algorithm-defined feeds have driven more engagement in other apps, which is why every platform now defaults to its own algo-defined “For You” stream. As such, it’s interesting to see LinkedIn shifting the other way, though the algorithmic feed will remain the default, with the “My Network” tab only able to be manually accessed each time you open the app.

LinkedIn further notes that it’s also removed the “Sort” filter on desktop for some members.

“LinkedIn’s content recommendations already take recency into account, so we’ve streamlined the experience to match what you already see in the LinkedIn mobile app […] Members in the UK, the European Economic Area (EEA), and the European Union (EU) will still have access to the sort filter and can organize their feed based on the most recent posts. This change affects members outside of these regions who will no longer see the sort filter on their desktop feeds.”

That could be slightly annoying, though as LinkedIn notes, it will reflect the mobile app.

LinkedIn plans to test the new multi-feed set-up for five weeks to glean feedback before deciding on next step.