Linkedin Audio Events - My Trial & Thoughts
Tristan Griffiths
Removing overwhelm from social media, content creation, livestreaming & social audio!
As an early adopter to most technologies, it was an absolute pleasure to join an audio event or room over on LinkedIn hosted by Beth Granger on the evening of 12th Jan 2022 (UK Time), giving me the ability to share my thoughts further in this blog…?
Read more about the release of Linkedin Audio Events on the official Blog post here :?
Due to the nature of connections and network on LinkedIn, it was great to see several familiar faces, and also connect with some new ones.
Even without getting too deep into the features, opportunities, bugs and other things, I think that just two days in from launch this product shows a wealth of promise with a number of applications I can envisage already!
Having a user’s ‘headline’, (or at least around 40 characters of this), visible?below a users name, gives us a little more context to who the person is speaking, without having to tap through to their full profile.?
However when tapping on someone’s face, you are then presented with ways to message or connect with them, which is a fantastic way to consciously decide with whom you would like to connect, based on the quality of the conversation in the audio event or space.?
Yesterday (at the time of publication) I tested the LinkedIn audio events whilst travelling on cellular data, and on the whole the product was very stable until I literally completely lost signal.
The occasional audio glitch, but?very high quality audio for the majority.
Only once or twice did I actually completely lose connection, and was exited from the audio space, and unfortunately when reopening the app it took me to the newsfeed rather than back to the audio event. Thankfully being on mobile a couple of quick taps and I was able to click through my calendar link straight back into the event and join again.
Taking the opportunity to test speaking whilst on cellular data, sadly this was not such a good experience, from all reports.
Which surprised me, as recording an audio note in direct messages in the same environment was nearly crystal clear.
It was nice to see some of the learnt behaviours from other audio apps being practised in the audio event today, such as flashing speaker mics to signal clapping, however with a limited display of only six speakers visible on both desktop and mobile this is somewhat limited in its effectiveness.
I also personally think that the?green circle around the current speaker?could be more prominent – but this is a common problem for audio events and rooms across all social audio, without it becoming ugly or too distracting.?
When JOINING the Linkedin audio event you are also muted, just like other platforms such as Clubhouse or Twitter Spaces,?(and a few of yesterday’s attendees had issues to unmute themselves)
Beth Granger?who was hosting this space, reported regular jumping of the app down to the ~Listener area, which may be a signal of people requesting to join, or possibly entering the space? [?This is still to be confirmed?]?
The overall functionality and usability of audio events or spaces on LinkedIn is simple and user-friendly, without any over-complication.
Tristan Griffiths AKA @ImTristanG
Another feature allowing more instant feedback is the ‘reaction section’, which displays over the profile pictures of users, allowing them to give instant feedback to speakers, however the same problem ensues because of the limited number of speakers visible on screen
My overall first impression of LinkedIn audio events and spices is that?it is a very promising product, that once the bugs are ironed out shows a lot of promise, and will provide a lot of opportunity for those ready to experiment, and embrace the new format.
I will be curious to see how the inclusion of audio events impact the use of other audio features such as voice notes in direct messaging, as I feel from a conversational point of view this may speed up communication, however this does not come without its downfalls.?
Whilst voice is very effective for faster communication and ensuring the tone is heard correctly, sadly on most platforms this is then just not searchable, impacting the effectiveness of important communication via voice only without a written follow-up
I am very curious to see what additional features LinkedIn will add to audio events and spaces, and would love to see some additional functionality, although I think they have perfected the core elements, and as soon as the bugs are ironed out this will be a very effective tool!
I found it interesting to hear from?Beth?during today’s audio event that she could only see?six speakers on the desktop version?due to the limited view, as I would have imagined this to be the case on mobile, but less than one desktop. However it is incredible to have a desktop available version for audio events, especially for those with more advanced audio set ups on their machines!!
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[ Worth noting there are only TWO visible if on mobile in landscape! ]?
I can only assume that this development is due to a one design for a unified experience across both mobile and desktop.
Unlike live video events, that are showcased in the header area of a users profile, (when using creator mode) these audio events are not featured as being live on their profile at present, however I’m sure this feature will be added based on the beta tester feedback to the developers!
As an agency owner who helps people to create content more effectively and efficiently using video, we often find people not ready to go live on video, and this may well provide a very effective solution for them to create more content at scale including blogs, LinkedIn articles and other publication formats in for less time than they would otherwise take.
It comes as no surprise to see a?feature rich audio experience on LinkedIn, following from the likes of Clubhouse and Twitter spaces, leading the way, and showcasing which features were important, and how they were used. I have no doubt that the development team have been keeping a close eye on these platforms, as well as Facebook for inspiration, and lessons already learnt.
Thanks to the dreaded C-word, there is still talk around events and how normal things will become, or if we will remain partially virtual or hybrid. I think that the audio format lends itself to fantastic?networking?opportunities, allowing people to connect deeper with each other’s networks, having had the chance to find out more about them and their experience from an audio event.
The fact that LinkedIn has allowed messaging via email to other users in the audio event, suggests to me that this will further enhance the networking capabilities within LinkedIn, which is seconded by the tab on the event page entitled networking.
In this area you can also find people to network further based on their industry…
NOTE : When tapping those you are not connect to you in the LIVE Audio Room will see different options based on their profile and privacy settings. ‘Follow / Connect’
Existing Linkedin connections offer different options…
I have already just five minutes after the audio event had messages, and connection requests from other members of the event, further proving my thesis on networking capability and opportunity through audio events on LinkedIn
I can already picture a handful of my close connections here on LinkedIn who will make very effective use of the audio experience, and host fantastic audio events here on LinkedIn. Those who have already cut their teeth over on Twitter spaces, clubhouse or Facebook audio rooms, already have a competitive advantage over those starting green here on LinkedIn.
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If you have thoughts or insights around this topic I would love to hear them down in the comment section, as always I am a strong believer that we can all learn from one another, and this is not a one-way broadcast, but an invite to a conversation around an important topic!
Thanks for taking the time to read?#ImTristanGInsights?
My aim in 2022 is the publish a blog around my thoughts and insights every single day throughout the year.
You’ll be able to find these in ALL these places;?
So as I always say in my live streams, please do connect with me wherever you most like to spend time!?
Thanks again for your time & sharing your thoughts…?
Tristan Griffiths?AKA?#ImTristanG
Other screenshots from the platform can be seen in the ORIGINALLY POSTED ARTICLE :
PREVIOUS 2022 #ImTristanGInsights
Relentlessly helpful? LinkedIn? nerd, trainer & speaker. Creator of Espresso+ community & UpLift Live conference. Not a douche canoe ??
2 年Nice roundup, thanks! On the point about voice notes in DMs, I often mark important voice notes that I want to revisit with one of the non-standard reactions, so that they stand out in the conversation thread (see example below – search the reactions list for "check" to use this one). I'd like to see the voice tech adapted so that you can send voice notes on LinkedIn desktop.
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2 年The possibility to create new and deepen existing relationships with audio is vast, Tristan. It's one of it's strong points. Yes, it's glitchy and not perfect but I hope the developers listen to what the users are saying. Agreeing with A N D Y F O O T E about groups. These have been ignored for far too long and audio within groups could be a positive step.
Creator & Host (of the Curious AF Show).
2 年LinkedIn?Audio will bring the same engagement-on-steroids that folks loved about Clubhouse. Needs to be super easy to run and attend, I'm not convinced that Events is the best way to deliver social audio. Why can't we just type a title in Messenger, click 'send to all' (1st degrees/followers) and start the room? LinkedIn design team didn't think inside all of the available boxes imo. And what about Groups?? That's the most obvious use-case for audio, I'm disappointed that this option/play was apparently ignored.
Accelerating Your LinkedIn? & Networking Learning Curve ? Exactly What to Say? Certified Guide ? Speaker, consultant, trainer ? Frequent LinkedIn Beta-Tester ? You Can't Automate Relationships?
2 年I agree that it has huge potential. I have so many ideas that I don't know where to begin. Plus, I love how responsive the product team is.