LinkedIn to get new API, homepage, tailored news aggregator

LinkedIn, the business networking site whose individual profiles look just like resumes, has been in the news here and there recently -- often not in a way that inspires confidence. Some have been suggesting that Facebook's new and upcoming features make LinkedIn redundant; others have floated rumors (apparently untrue) that it would be acquired by NewsCorp.

Now it emerges that LinkedIn is going to be upgraded with features such as an API a la Facebook, so third-party developers will be able to write LinkedIn apps the way they write Facebook apps. A new homepage will go live this Monday, which includes on-site messaging, network updates (that is, a news feed displaying your contacts' activities) and a news aggregator. The news aggregator will automatically pull news items of professional interest to each member.

These features seem like good adaptations of the sorts of things we're seeing on Facebook, MySpace, and elsewhere, and the aggregator in particular sounds interesting. Good news for LinkedIn, and for consumers.

LinkedIn API and New Homepage Drawing Near

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