The End of LinkedIn's Community Top Voices: What It Really Means
Javier Yébenes?
1st Certified Linkedin Marketing Expert in NZ | B2B Marketing | Growth | Linkedin Ads
As we near October 8, 2024, LinkedIn is officially retiring its gold Community Top Voice badge, a symbol of achievement for contributors to collaborative articles. While this change may seem like a shift in focus from LinkedIn's perspective, it raises a deeper question: What was the real purpose behind this badge, and why is it being retired now?
Let’s dive into the bigger picture.
LinkedIn's Gold Badge: A Clever Data Play
At first glance, the Community Top Voice program was a brilliant way to recognize LinkedIn contributors. But beyond the recognition, LinkedIn was quietly collecting a massive amount of data. Each post, comment, and contribution was essentially free content, helping LinkedIn educate its generative AI (Gen AI) models while improving platform SEO and boosting engagement.
The strategy? Simple: incentivize users to create high-quality content in exchange for a badge. In reality, LinkedIn’s gold badges fueled its Gen AI by feeding it countless insights from professionals across industries.
The result? LinkedIn rapidly enhanced its AI models without the need for costly training data or time-consuming manual curation. This data mining disguised as community-building was nothing short of genius, but it also reveals the program's true purpose: to gather as much valuable input as possible, at no cost, from its user base.
Why End It Now?
With the amount of data already collected and AI models becoming more sophisticated, LinkedIn no longer needs this "community-based" approach to gather insights. AI has matured enough to rely on pre-existing content, with fewer new inputs needed to fine-tune its algorithms. The cost-benefit ratio of the gold badge program has likely reached its tipping point.
LinkedIn’s move to discontinue the automatic awarding of Community Top Voice badges signals a shift in priorities. The focus is now on quality over quantity, with the editorially-driven blue Top Voice badges taking the lead.
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What Does This Mean for You?
What’s Next?
As LinkedIn shifts its focus, those looking to build their thought leadership or professional brand on the platform need to adjust. With the discontinuation of the gold badge, it becomes clear that LinkedIn's future lies in more editorial-driven, high-quality content, with greater control over who gets the spotlight.
For those who enjoyed the quick wins of the Community Top Voice badge, it’s time to evolve your strategy. Focus on creating content that resonates with your audience, engages in meaningful conversations, and builds lasting relationships. Thought leadership, now more than ever, will require intentionality rather than chasing badges.
A Bold Move and probably the Right One!
LinkedIn’s decision to retire the Community Top Voice badge raises an important question: Was this truly about improving content quality, or did LinkedIn simply reach its data collection goal?
Regardless, the change reflects a broader trend across platforms. AI is increasingly becoming central to the way content is curated, discovered, and interacted with. As users, we must be aware of how our contributions shape these systems—and, in turn, how these systems shape our experience.
The days of chasing badges may be over, but that doesn’t mean your voice is any less valuable. The key is knowing how to leverage your content, connections, and expertise to continue growing in an evolving platform.
The badge is gone, but your influence doesn’t have to be.
What do you think about LinkedIn’s move? Will this impact how you engage with the platform? Let me know in the comments below.
Digital marketing expert | Lead Generation | Google ads | LinkedIn ads | Meta ads.
1 个月Well, there goes my chance of finally getting that Community Top Voice badge! ?? But in all seriousness, it's exciting to see LinkedIn evolving and focusing on intentional thought leadership. Can't wait to see what's next! ??
LinkedIn Expertin ?? Social Selling Virtuosin ?? B2B Marketing & Sales Nerd ?? Speakerin ??Autorin ?? Golf Geek ? Gin Taster ?? Always on Fire ??
1 个月that was just a SEO hack and not smart, because the system is broken. Most of comments are not valuable. They are just AI-generated crap with tools. And unfortunately the collaborative articles are not gone. They are still in use for new Sh*t in, sh*t out AI learning. Just the top community voice badge is away, because so many cheated. linkedin uses all our data of our profile and content and that is more worth than any comment on a collaborative article.
Personal & Employer Branding | PR & Communications | Retail Marketing Specialist
1 个月A really nice insightful article on the why and what next Javier Yebenes? - thank you. Did you come across any material on how people get chosen for the blue top voice? And the qualifiers. Curious.
Branding and growth marketing for Professional Services Firms | Chief Marketing Officer (Fractional) | Founder of Beyond Billables | BJJ Brown Belt
1 个月Nice post. I thought they pulled the plug as it had become broken and completely overrun with spam AI answers and people gaming the system which meant actual people contributing weren't becoming Top Voices anyway... but this is a novel thought as well!
Corporate Digital Comms Strategist ?? | LinkedIn Mastermind | Professional Branding Architect | Digital Business & Social Selling Pro ?? | Ecuadorian Entrepreneur | Passionate Lifelong Learning Advocate ??
1 个月Thank you so much for sharing this insightful article Javier! As a fellow Top Communications Voice, I understand firsthand the significance of being part of such a valuable community and let me tell you I really enjoyed writing and contributing, as a matter of fact I created great connections with other people around the world. So from my point of view LinkedIn’s strategy was great! More than a title, being a Top Voice has always been about fostering meaningful connections, sharing authentic content, and contributing to professional conversations. I believe that this shift challenges us to continue creating value-driven content, now perhaps even more organically, to inspire and guide our audiences. The power of LinkedIn lies in its community, we must stay focused on the real purpose of this platform, people and real stories that connect with our audiences. Once again thanks for sharing. ????