LinkedIn is adding new tools to help people with their side hustles

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LinkedIn is adding a bunch of new features meant to help people keep up with their side hustles, vibe-coding projects and other pursuits that might not align with their day job. The company is tweaking profiles so people can highlight multiple jobs and introducing new creator-focused tools for founders.

Some of the changes are meant to make it easier for people to keep up with people they actually know on the platform. The service is testing a "network" feed that will only show posts and updates from existing connections and accounts you follow, rather than algorithmic recommendations. And it's adding a "business card" feature that can be added to your phone's wallet app to make it easier to connect on LinkedIn with people you meet IRL.

Founders and business owners will also have a new way to monetize their LinkedIn presence with something called "Advice Sessions." The feature will allow people to offer paid one-on-one meetings and consultations through the platform. The company says the feature will initially be available to those with a business premium subscription in the US, and that it won't take a cut of users' earnings from these sessions.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is introducing other creator-centric tools too, including a new analytics dashboard so people can better understand how their posts are performing. For creators making video content, the platform plans to expand its revenue-sharing program that passes on a cut of revenue generated by pre-roll ads.

All of the changes, according to LinkedIn, are meant to reflect the fact that work looks different now for a lot of people, thanks to the rise of AI. The company says it's seen a 70-percent increase in people who have added "founder" to their profiles over the last year, and that more people are listing multiple ongoing roles in their profiles.

I asked the company's Chief Product Officer, Hari Srinivasan, if that's because AI is making it easier and faster to start a new venture or if disruptions in the labor market from AI are forcing people to get more creative. He said the company's data shows "there are definitely more people starting businesses now," though it's "hard to tell" what the underlying reasons for that may be.

He also noted that there's more to starting a new venture than simply vibe coding a piece of software. "You can build all this incredible stuff with AI, but I don't know if it's necessarily made it easier to build a business."