LinkedIn Mobile Beta - Almost Great

I’ve become a big fan of mobile web browsing over the last few months. Having the “whole internet on your (i)phone” is great, but I’ve also come to appreciate a well-made mobile site. The best example I’ve seen yet is Facebook (or Ta-Da List, if I actually used it). It loses the annoying third-party apps in favor of the essentials, and it’s quick and easy to use.

So it was with a good bit of anticipation that I tried the new mobile beta version of LinkedIn. It, too, is optimized for iPhone and has a nice look, but it is ultimately unsatisfying.

I specifically like their choice of using the Updates tab as the home screen. That’s the first place I look whenever I visit LinkedIn, and I’m guessing that’s pretty common. I’d love to know if they used web analytics or even eye-tracking to make this decision, or if this was simply based on their gut feelings. Browsing through your contacts is simple and the sidebar alphabet listing is a nice touch, since it ties into an existing iPhone convention.

Unfortunately, this is where things start to go downhill. One disappointing omission is the ability to send messages to your contacts or to view your inbox. If I get an email invitation to connect, I’d love to be able to log in on the mobile site and confirm the request.

That’s not what bothered me most about the new mobile site, though. I fully expected that when viewing one of my own contacts, I’d be able to then see their list of contacts (aka “my network”) and maybe even have the option to get introduced or send them a message. When you’re building your brand around your ability to connect people, leaving that functionality out of your site — even your mobile site — is not a good idea.

I really believe this can be a great mobile site if they take another look at what the priorites of their users are. But for now, I’ll be sticking to the standard version of LinkedIn.