People managing LinkedIn Groups should note that LinkedIn recently added a couple of useful tools to the Groups interface. This doesn't make LinkedIn good, it just makes it somewhat better. At the end of this post, I ask some big questions about the business networking site, and whether it does anything its members need it to do.
A Problem with Groups
One major problem in many LinkedIn Groups is that vendors, consultants and others routinely post messages about their products and services, even though Group members generally aren't seeking commercial content. LinkedIn compounded this problem by merging the old "News" tab with the general "Discussion" tab. This meant that many Discussion forums have been deluged with commercial content that many see as spam.
The Newest Tools
To address this issue, LinkedIn has added a new tab to the Groups interface: Promotions. Members or administrators can flag a discussion as promotional and move it from Discussions to the Promotions tab.
Another recently-added feature is the "Group rules" link on the right side. This allows Group administrators to define rules, policies and guidelines that govern posting messages and interacting within the Group.
Prior & Future Tools
Last month, LinkedIn added some other tools for Group managers, including:
- deleting inappropriate threads directly from the Discussion section;
- email alerts for new Discussion threads ;
- ability to delete spam postings straight from that email alert message;
- ability to promote Group member to Moderator status from a simple menu;
- a moderation queue for admins, for reviewing content flagged by members as inappropriate or as spam;
- automatic removal of content that has been flagged as inappropriate by members, without review by an Admin.
Future features will probably allow Group admins to delete all the messages posted by a particular user/spammer, and block that user from posting additional spam.
A Reminder: The Community Manager's Role
These new features makes the Admin's job potentially easier. But it's important to note that the Group Administrator still has to work hard...
- to review new members' qualifications to join closed or restricted Groups,
- to understand how users want to use the Group, or what it can help members to do, and
- to set goals that inform the manager's decisions about when and how to interact with Group members and their content.
These basic aspects of effective community management require time, attention and thoughtful consideration by Group managers.
Big Questions Remain
Even if new features help you manage your Groups, is LinkedIn helping most people connect?
Does online networking work? What does it even mean to network online? Are users lazy, or is LinkedIn designed to fail?
What do you think is still missing from LinkedIn?
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