{"id":12122,"date":"2025-02-06T15:56:44","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T15:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.golive.clarku.edu\/news\/2025\/02\/06\/the-evolution-of-linkedin\/"},"modified":"2025-05-19T09:19:58","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T13:19:58","slug":"the-evolution-of-linkedin","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2025\/02\/06\/the-evolution-of-linkedin\/","title":{"rendered":"The evolution of LinkedIn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n

How internet influencers have changed the professional networking platform<\/p>\n <\/iframe><p><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Is online influencing just for entertainment? Or does it have a place in the business world? LinkedIn has been a networking platform since 2002, but lately, it has evolved into something more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So-called LinkedInfluencers are using the platform in the same vein as other social media sites, injecting inspiration into their posts to boost their personal brands and shape conversations about their industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On this episode of <strong>Challenge. Change.<\/strong>, Professors Lawrence Norman and Tim Hally ’19, MBA ’20, who teach marketing at Clark’s School of Business, weigh in on whether this kind of content is beneficial and share how one can develop their personal brand messaging to cut through the online clutter to form genuine connections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/tim-photo-682x1024-2.jpg\" alt=\"man standing for photo in MACD building\" class=\"wp-image-71576\" style=\"width:182px;height:auto\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tim Hally<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>“LinkedIn has evolved from a work and internship job hub to a place to post entertainment that’s linked to work,” Norman says. “It’s become a powerful space where you’re able to promote your brand in a way that you couldn’t years ago.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hally says he does consider himself a LinkedInfluencer, but is cautious and thoughtful with his posts. He wants to avoid the negative connotations associated with online influencing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>“I think personal branding really is an exercise of self-awareness,” he says. “Personal branding is this conscious long-term activity of projecting thoughts, ideas, values, and experiences out into the world. We cannot control what people think of us, but we can help own our narrative, we can help shape that perception, and we can take our power back.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Challenge. Change.<\/strong> is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/4UuYAjq1d3Hq45cjwxoCNL\">Spotify<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/challenge-change\/id1608025510\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile has-smoke-background-color has-background\" style=\"grid-template-columns:auto 46%\"><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-smoke-background-color has-background\" id=\"h-alumni-voices-on-challenge-change\">Alumni voices on Challenge. Change.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/clarknow.clarku.edu\/2023\/09\/07\/humanizing-the-spectrum-of-sexuality\/\">Humanizing Sexual Health with Alicia Gauvin ’12<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/clarknow.clarku.edu\/2024\/09\/19\/master-of-my-own-destiny\/\">Mastering your Destiny (in the Woods) with Andrew Vietze ’91<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/clarknow.clarku.edu\/2024\/09\/11\/sublime-symphonies\/\">The Sublime Symphonies of Anton Bruckner with Professor Benjamin Korstvedt ’87<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/Andrew-Vietze-2-1.jpeg\" alt=\"man looks at canoes on shore\" class=\"wp-image-59972 size-full\"><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How internet influencers have changed the professional networking platform<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":12123,"template":"","meta":{"story_color":"#525250","story_headerImg":12123,"section_label":"Challenge. Change. Podcast","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[251,223],"displayed_author":[226],"featured":[],"topic":[232,252,240,231,260,261,176,153],"class_list":["post-12122","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-innovation","category-clark-community","displayed_author-brenna-moore-24-msc-25","topic-alumni","topic-alumni-stories","topic-business","topic-careers","topic-major-in-marketing","topic-marketing","topic-podcast","topic-school-of-business"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>The evolution of LinkedIn | ClarkU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2025\/02\/06\/the-evolution-of-linkedin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The evolution of LinkedIn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How internet influencers have changed the professional networking platform\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2025\/02\/06\/the-evolution-of-linkedin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ClarkU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-19T13:19:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020-Marketing-To-You-28-Jan-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1266\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"764\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/06\\\/the-evolution-of-linkedin\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/06\\\/the-evolution-of-linkedin\\\/\",\"name\":\"The evolution of LinkedIn | ClarkU News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/06\\\/the-evolution-of-linkedin\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/06\\\/the-evolution-of-linkedin\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/37\\\/2020-Marketing-To-You-28-Jan-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-06T15:56:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-19T13:19:58+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/06\\\/the-evolution-of-linkedin\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/06\\\/the-evolution-of-linkedin\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/37\\\/2020-Marketing-To-You-28-Jan-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/37\\\/2020-Marketing-To-You-28-Jan-2.jpg\",\"width\":1266,\"height\":764,\"caption\":\"Lawrence Norman \u201994, MBA \u201995\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-json\\\/wp\\\/v2\\\/story\\\/12122#breadcrumbs\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":0,\"name\":\"ClarkU\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"ClarkU News\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Stories\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-json\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Stories\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-json\\\/wp\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Stories\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-json\\\/wp\\\/v2\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":5,\"name\":\"Stories\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-json\\\/wp\\\/v2\\\/story\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":6,\"name\":\"Stories\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-json\\\/wp\\\/v2\\\/story\\\/12122\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"ClarkU News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The evolution of LinkedIn | ClarkU News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2025\/02\/06\/the-evolution-of-linkedin\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The evolution of LinkedIn","og_description":"How internet influencers have changed the professional networking platform","og_url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2025\/02\/06\/the-evolution-of-linkedin\/","og_site_name":"ClarkU News","article_modified_time":"2025-05-19T13:19:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1266,"height":764,"url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020-Marketing-To-You-28-Jan-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2025\/02\/06\/the-evolution-of-linkedin\/","url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2025\/02\/06\/the-evolution-of-linkedin\/","name":"The evolution of LinkedIn | ClarkU News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2025\/02\/06\/the-evolution-of-linkedin\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2025\/02\/06\/the-evolution-of-linkedin\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020-Marketing-To-You-28-Jan-2.jpg","datePublished":"2025-02-06T15:56:44+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-19T13:19:58+00:00","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2025\/02\/06\/the-evolution-of-linkedin\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2025\/02\/06\/the-evolution-of-linkedin\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020-Marketing-To-You-28-Jan-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020-Marketing-To-You-28-Jan-2.jpg","width":1266,"height":764,"caption":"Lawrence Norman \u201994, MBA \u201995"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/12122#breadcrumbs","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":0,"name":"ClarkU","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"ClarkU News","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":6,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/12122"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/","name":"ClarkU News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"fimg_url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020-Marketing-To-You-28-Jan-2-1024x618.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/12122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/story"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/12122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12122"},{"taxonomy":"displayed_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/displayed_author?post=12122"},{"taxonomy":"featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured?post=12122"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=12122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}