LinkedIn launches social news product

11 Mar 2011, 7:21 am   -   Source: Reuters
LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner displays a chart of graphics during the Reuters Technology Summit in San Francisco, California May 17, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner displays a chart of graphics during the Reuters Technology Summit in San Francisco, California May 17, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California (Reuters) - LinkedIn, the Internet social network for professionals, launched a service on Thursday that creates a customized online newspaper from articles being shared by the network's more than 90 million members and by users of Twitter.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California (Reuters) - LinkedIn, the Internet social network for professionals, launched a service on Thursday that creates a customized online newspaper from articles being shared by the network's more than 90 million members and by users of Twitter.

The new service, called LinkedIn Today, displays excerpts of the most popular articles in various industries, in a move that the company hopes will spur users to interact more on its website.

LinkedIn, which filed earlier this year to sell shares to the public, makes money through advertising and by offering premium services. The site is popular resource for job-hunters and for people looking to expand their network of business contacts but has lagged behind social networks like Facebook and Twitter when it comes to user activity on the site.

According to LinkedIn, more than one million messages are shared by members of the network every day.

"There are quite a few of our members who are already doing it," said LinkedIn product head Deep Nishar, about users sharing content on the site. "And there will be more members definitely as a result of seeing the manifestation of what happens when you share and interact with your network."

LinkedIn users will be able to create separate news pages for the various industries they follow, such as the Internet, cleantech and healthcare. Articles will appear in LinkedIn Today based upon how often they have been shared by members of LinkedIn, as well as by members of Twitter, with which LinkedIn has a pre-existing partnership.

LinkedIn declined to say whether the partnership included any financial terms, owing to its pre-IPO quiet period.

The company said the new feature will also be available in an upgrade to its iPhone app that was being released on Thursday.

(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic)

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