LinkedIn just fixed one of its most annoying problems

LinkedIn messaging experience 3

(LinkedIn)

I'm a big LinkedIn user, but for a long time there's one feature that caused me angst because it worked so poorly:

Messaging.

The one-to-one communication tool on LinkedIn was completely broken.

I felt like I was constantly losing track of messages because the Inbox section of the site and app didn't allow me to read entire threads at once.

For a long time, you couldn't even tell from the Inbox whether or not you had responded to someone's message (the site recently added a "responded" tag, but you still only see the last received message when you click a thread). I often didn't get notifications for new messages.

The entire experience felt clunky and led to me leaving my email address in almost every note so that I could move the conversation to a more reliable platform.

LinkedIn

(LinkedIn)

But, rejoice, because LinkedIn has finally fixed messaging!

The company is rolling out an "easier and more lightweight" way to have conversations, the company writes.

"The wait is over," product manager Mark Hull writes, acknowledging that users had long been asking for new messaging capabilities. Communicating on LinkedIn will now look a lot more like it does on texting or Facebook Messenger; you can even use stickers and GIFs or attach photos or documents.

LinkedIn says that it has improved its push notifications for messages too, so no more accidentally waiting half a week to respond to an important professional connection.

Here's a peek at what the new experience will look like.

linkedin messaging experience 1

(LinkedIn)

For the first time, you can also create group messages, in case you want to start a dialog with several colleagues at once.

Now that it's finally left the tired old method behind, the company says it plans to keep improving the messaging platform.

"We’re excited about concepts like intelligent messaging assistants that can help suggest people you should message or provide you with relevant information about that person before you start a conversation," Hull writes. "Or the possibilities with voice and video to make conversations more compelling."

LinkedIn messaging experience 2

(LinkedIn)

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