In the days of yore (3 years ago), when social networks were first
making their mark on the digital landscape, there was a divide between
those networks you chose for business and those selected for fun.
Today, those worlds collide, as LinkedIn and Twitter formally get
"linked" to each other. And the combination is sweeter than PB&J.;
For all those that are members of both networks, you know that while tweet are ubiquitous, status updates on LinkedIn are less frequently used. Knowing the dynamic, the founders of both LinkedIn and Twitter decided to marry the two, so what’s posted on one can be shared with the other.
LinkedIn will now allow you to update your status on your LinkedIn profile and then immediately tweet it out to the Twitterverse with a cross posting feature.
All you need to do is click the new Twitter box under your LinkedIn network updates and voila’- your update syncs up and tweets out!
This integration is also reciprocal. You can also share Tweets to your LinkedIn profile from Twitter or any other client by adding the hashtag "#in" of "#li" to your tweet.
According to a Techcrunch report, "the odd man out in this announcement appears to be Facebook, who has yet to add Twitter syndication to its functionality for all users." A spokesperson for Facebook says it’s something the site "may consider in the future." This does seem a little odd to me. Facebook has been in pursuit of Twitter’s functionality from day one, and for them to be excluded from this new LinkedIn partnership is suspect. I believe there is more to this story then meets the eye, and I will report on what I find as more news comes in. (note: Readers, please leave a comment if you have some inside information on this topic).
So, there you have it. Once again, worlds collide to form a better union and a greater functionality for users. Try it out. Peanut Butter and chocolate can become addictive very quickly.
(Note: The Twitter feature will be gradually rolled out over the next 24 hours to all LinkedIn users.)
