A SOCIAL MEDIA RENAISSANCE

FEON ANG EXPLAINS WHY LINKEDIN INSISTS ON AUTHENTICITY AND MEANINGFULNESS.

- ZAT ASTHA

AS A USER ON A QUEST TO understand LinkedIn's algorithm more intimately, meeting Feon Ang is akin to meeting a rockstar. With 10 years of experience under her belt, first as LinkedIn's director for Talent Solutions and now as APAC managing director, I was ready to absorb the wisdom Ang can share. I'm ready to rumble, and, judging by Ang's open laptop dutifully adorned with bulleted responses to the few questions I've sent over for context, so was she.

I start my knowledge-finding with a surprise question: What is LinkedIn's role in the world of work today? Ang looks up at me and smiles. She realises that I am not about to stick to the order of questions I sent over a few days before (because how fun would that be?), but Ang hardly falters. She is, after all, the authority on all things LinkedIn.

"We want to connect professionals and help them be more productive and successful," she shares without skipping a beat. "The objective is for people to consume meaningful content that improves their skills and knowledge." It all sounds very corporate-speak until Ang throws in a zeitgeist-ey curve ball.

"It's not about posting something viral just for the sake of attention and likes," she adds, both in acknowledgement of the dire state of social media today and as a way to properly differentiate LinkedIn's value proposition amongst the online chatter.

TO LEARNING AND BEYOND