LinkedIn Adds Profile Pictures
This Friday LinkedIn will unveil its latest new feature: User photos. Actually the plural is misleading since it might make you think of photo galleries when in fact LinkedIn’s new feature is just one photo — yours, on your profile and limited to an 80×80 pixel image.
There will be options to block other users from viewing your photo and an option to block yourself from viewing photos from other users — a nod to HR departments everywhere that want to avoid the appearance of discriminatory hiring methods.
You might be wondering why it’s taken LinkedIn four years to offer something every other social network has offered for years. The answer is Facebook.
Once upon a time LinkedIn was the network for professionals, serious people looking for serious jobs with no time for frivolous stuff like friendly pictures on profiles. But with more and more employers readily turning to Facebook to research prospective candidates, LinkedIn is likely feeling the pressure to change with the times.
However, LinkedIn has gone to great pains to add the photos to the site without disrupting its professional image. LinkedIn says the profile pictures came about because of user requests, which makes sense, particularly overseas, where LinkedIn is fast expanding, and it’s common practice to attach a photograph to your CV. And LinkedIn has managed to strike a nice balance between features and privacy, something other social sites continue to struggle with.
[via Venture Beat]
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