LinkedIn links up with panel of 'influencers'

The online professional networking service hopes the proffered tips and advice will help it extend its clout beyond the help-wanted market.

The new feature added Tuesday will encourage LinkedIn's more than 175 million members to sign up to follow the musings of “influencers” — a 150-person panel that includes President Barack Obama, business moguls, Internet bloggers, self-help gurus and entrepreneurs.

LinkedIn Corp. plans to anoint other people as influencers, but only after screening candidates in order to ensure they are qualified to dispense helpful advice.

Besides Obama, LinkedIn recruited his Republican Party challenger, Mitt Romney, to be among its initial group of influencers. Virgin Group Richard Branson also has agreed to share his thoughts, along with oil mogul T. Boone Pickens, serial entrepreneur James Caan and Craig Newmark, the founder of online classified service Craigslist.

Other LinkedIn influencers, such as chef Marcus Samuelsson and Cleveland Clinic CEO Delos Cosgrove, are expected to cater to people interested in specific fields. LinkedIn's CEO, Jeff Weiner, and executive chairman, Reid Hoffman, are also on the list.

LinkedIn, which is based in Mountain View, California, is counting on its influencers to share their tips in short essays, video and photos. It's similar to the sharing that occurs billions of times per day on Twitter and Facebook, where users see information posted from other accounts that they have chosen to follow.

The concept represents something different for LinkedIn, whose system requires users to send requests to establish a connection. The tie-in doesn't occur until both people agree to it.

LinkedIn members will just have to click on a “follow” button to track what any of the influencers are sharing. The feature is part of LinkedIn Today, a daily news section unveiled last year as part of the company's attempt to build its website into something more than a digital rolodex that unites people looking for a better job with talent-hungry employers.

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