The social network said it is piloting a new way for users to connect with leading professional voices, allowing them access to programming and conversations from industry creators as well as shows created in-house by LinkedIn news.
The podcasts will touch on topics ranging from technology with “The Big Technology Podcast”, to finding meaning in one’s work with “Sparked”, while offering tips on how to better navigate the workplace for women of colour with “Brown Table Talk”.
Other podcasts like “The Anxious Achiever” will focus on the issue of mental health at work.
Reid Hoffman, one of the founders of LinkedIn, will co-host “The Start-Up of You” with Ben Casnocha. This podcast will share top tips from Silicon Valley start-ps that can be applied to listeners’ own lives to help them achieve their goals.
While the podcasts will be available on Spotify, Apple Podcast and other platforms, the shows will also be available on LinkedIn. To listen to them, users will have to follow the different hosts and subscribe to their newsletters. T
This is a way for LinkedIn to offer a new service by allowing direct interaction between the listener and the podcast host – a concept that contrasts with the passive listening experience of podcasts on other platforms.
The social network has not commented on the monetisation of this content, and how revenues generated on the platform might be shared.
The professional social network recently unveiled a similar project, this time involving a content series fronted by Gabrielle Union. The US star will front the sponsored series “Getting Real With Gabrielle Union”, the goal of which is to raise the profiles of Black and underrepresented entrepreneurs.
It will address topics such as mental health in the workplace, but also gender equality issues that have become priorities in recent years, and which mark an evolution in the professional world.
According to “The Hollywood Reporter”, the series will consist of videos and posts published directly on Union’s LinkedIn profile.
For the actress, this project will redefine what it means to be “professional”. In a first LinkedIn post, Union said: “To me, redefining professionalism means leaving the door open for vulnerability, allowing myself to prioritise family, and not being afraid to say no (or hell no) to something that doesn’t positively impact my journey forward. But that’s only a piece of my story.”
She added: “I hope the takeaway is that a successful career isn’t built around how your hair is styled, or if you have an accent, or if there’s tattoos, or if you need different working hours to put your family first. There is not one way to be ‘professional’.”
An official launch date of the series has yet to be announced.