LinkedIn goddess Donna Serdula alerts us to the fact that LinkedIn Answers is going away at the end of this month. I’m sorry to see the feature go, but I’m not all that surprised. I’ve often said it’s one of the best-kept secrets on LinkedIn: a good place for discussions, and a good way to help boost one’s SEO profile.

Unfortunately, LinkedIn Answers was crippled by two things: it was pretty much hidden on the LinkedIn landscape, and it was a magnet for countless irrelevant postings that were off-topic and spammy.

Something will come along to replace it, but ultimately I think what LinkedIn really needs are thematic professional communities that have moderated discussion boards — with experienced and engaged moderators who will delete the spam, keep people focused and on topic and facilitate worthwhile and constructive discussions.

I’ve been online since Prodigy was The Next Big Thing, and I can’t think of one worthwhile community in which I’ve been involved that didn’t involve some serious level of human moderation.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013 at 9:23 am and is filed under Internet Stuff, Social Media.