The first obvious change users will see is the new design, which is a complete overhaul over the previous design, bringing with it some substantial changes. The stream looks quite a bit similar to what you get when using Facebook’s mobile app, with updates and conversations in a status-like row. Users can like and comment on a post via the stream, rather than going to the content for interaction.

The new stream brings with it content that is even more tailored to the specific user via a new navigation page, which is revealed by swiping the main screen to the right. The navigation page can be personalized the way you want it, making it ideal for your needs and how you use the device. And finally, the updated apps add more support for users who are located outside of the US.

Over time, the number of users who utilize LinkedIn has shifted, with the majority (64-percent) being located somewhere other than the US. Because of this, the redesign has been done in such a way that it is more generalized towards all professionals and how they would use the app in an everday way. Support for more languages has also been implemented, including Norwegian and Dutch for the iPhone and Android apps, as well as Turkish for the Android app.

[via LinkedIn]

For those of you that are big fans of Pulse, you’ll be able to rest easy (for now) knowing that Pulse – in all its iterations – will be safely supported through the future. From what we’re hearing out of both camps, it would appear that the Pulse apps on iOS and Android will be supported for the foreseeable future while the Pulse team is folded into LinkedIn’s team where they’ll bring something brand new to the table.

The Pulse experience will continue to be supported, while we work together on new and innovative ways to publish, discover, and share your professional knowledge.”

What’s unclear at the moment is what the final product of this purchase will be – the Pulse team will become part of LinkedIn, and they’ve suggested that they’re going to create something new. The language is a bit hazy, on the other hand, with the following being part of the core of this new situation:

We want to be the definitive professional publishing platform where all professionals can Publish, Discover, Share.

Publish updates, comments, presentations.
Discover Influencers, Groups, news, Company Pages.
Share, like and comment.

As LinkedIn puts it, Pulse will be bringing a “unique combination of product, technology, and design expertise” to the LinkedIn brand. Pulse, on the other hand, is celebrating by adding a new LinkedIn Influencer feed on the Pulse app and ecosystem.

“LinkedIn is the perfect partner as we continue our journey. The company shares our passions and values, our belief in the power of knowledge and elevated discussion, particularly for professionals looking for insights to help make them better at what they do. We believe this important step is the key to an even better experience for our community, and we’re excited for what’s to come.” – Pulse

Sound reasonable to you? It’ll be interesting to see how LinkedIn makes use of the Pulse developers and if Pulse will, indeed, stick around for the long haul. We expect LinkedIn to be beefed up with some graphic design and user interface savvy, that’s for certain.

LinkedIn states that its starting to roll out the new feature to English-speaking users at first, however, it plans on rolling out the feature to its global members soon. You can also utilize the new “mentions” feature in the comments section on your LinkedIn pages as well. You will be able to hold much more organized conversations with individuals in a community, enabling convenient one-on-one conversations.

This new rollout works seamlessly with Twitter as well, despite the two companies severing ties with each other back in July of 2012. If your Twitter account is linked with your LinkedIn account, the mentions in your status updates will transfer over to Twitter seamlessly. The mentions, while appaering as a full name on your LinkedIn status update, will change itself to the mentioned person’s Twitter username.

LinkedIn provides professionals with an easy way to connect to other professionals in their fields, as well as search for new and better jobs. Speaking of jobs, LinkedIn also rolled out a revamp to its jobs page back in February that made it even easier for people to find jobs relevant to their interests and work experience. LinkedIn says that “there’s more to come”, but we should expect no less from a network whose members “are some of the most engaged professionals online.”

[via LinkedIn]

The first major feature being added is what Linkedin calls the ‘first degree connection’. The Linkedin job search engine will show you companies where you know someone who can get you through the front doors. This is similar to the mutual friends system on Facebook, except these people will be your ticket to getting a new career.

Another feature being added is the ability to filter your job search by country, zip code, industry, and function. This advanced search feature will help you pinpoint careers that more specifically addresses your needs. You can also now view the latest job postings within your saved searches. There will be a new notification that will let you know when new job opportunities show up matching the criterias you listed before. There will be “Save Job” button that will let you keep track of your favorite job postings. And finally, there will be easier access to jobs that match your interest based on the information you place in your Linkedin profile.

For those with a subscription to Linkedin Job Seeker Premium, you will have a feature in the advanced search engine that will allow you to look up jobs that match the salary requirements you want. There will also be tips that appear during your job search to help you utilize Linkedin to its highest potential. All of these new features, as well as the redesign of the job search engine, will be rolled out to everyone within the next few weeks.

[via Linkedin]

Some other tech companies that made the list include Google who ranked 6th, LinkedIn ranks at number 14, Intel ranks 31st, and Apple comes in at 34th. Facebook certainly isn’t shy about being at the top of the list. The company was elected number one in 2011, and made the top three in last year’s list.

We would have expected Apple to be closer to the top of the list, and even Google seems like it should be in the top five at least. However, seeing both Facebook and Google in the top 10 is impressive nonetheless. However, what’s perhaps almost surprising is that Microsoft didn’t make the top 50 at all.

As aforementioned, the list is based on the input of employees who choose to provide feedback on various aspects of their job, such as work environment and the company itself, through Glassdoor’s anonymous online company review survey. In other words, the list is based on what employees anonymously tell Glassdoor about their employer.

The Washington Post deal has been reported by the same source speaking above as costing $12 million for the news business. In addition, it seems that LinkedIn has purchased approximately 15 different patents from Digg, one of which is the infamous “click a button to vote up a story” patent. These patents are said to have cost LinkedIn between $3.75 and $4 million USD.

Finally there’s Betaworks, a group which does indeed seem to have purchased everything of Digg’s that was left after the Washington Post and LinkedIn were done with it. This deal is still being reported as having gone down for around $500,000 USD, and includes everything that was listed in the initial leak from yesterday – CEO switching and all. Have a peek at our timeline of recent Digg stories that have led up to this absurd cut up and serve situation we’re seeing today.

Where before you’d have been able to sync LinkedIn and Twitter with the click of a button, you’ll now have to seek out 3rd party apps. In a blog post today, Ryan Roslansky, LinkedIn head of content, wrote the following.

“If you had previously synced your LinkedIn and Twitter accounts, and selected the option to share Tweets on LinkedIn, those Tweets generated from Twitter will no longer appear on LinkedIn. There will be no other changes to your LinkedIn experience.” – Roslansky

Twitter will this year be increasing its enforcement of its so-called “Developer Rules of the Road” and will be doubling down on keeping their brand consistent across the web. Twitter product manager Michael Sippy added in a blog post about developer upgrades in the near future:

“We’re building tools for publishers and investing more and more in our own apps to ensure that you have a great experience everywhere you experience Twitter, no matter what device you’re using. … Ultimately, we want to make sure that the Twitter experience is straightforward and easy to understand — whether you’re on Twitter.com or elsewhere on the web.” – Sippey

The suit also accuses LinkedIn of negligence and breach of contract for failing to encrypt the user database holding passwords with industry standard security protocols. Despite the fact that LinkedIn has been sued, it still not clear exactly how much data the hackers were able to run away with. The lead plaintiff in the class-action suit is Katie Szpryka, who had a paid upgraded account on LinkedIn.

The suit also covers a separate class for users with free accounts and claims that LinkedIn breached consumer protection laws on the books in California. Interestingly, the suit cites an FTC complaint filed in 2003 against me Guess clothing brand alleging unfair trade practices for storing customer details in an unencrypted database. I suspect LinkedIn will end up having to pay out some money in this case.

[via Gigaom]