While these ads -- the first the company has delivered to smartphones -- are still nascent, LinkedIn has lofty ambitions for the revenue they can generate. It's hoping that a content-rich news feed, fed by its stable of "influencer" columnists, will increase user engagement and create demand among marketers to have their messages there -- targeted, of course, at the data inherent in LinkedIn profiles.

"Now because people are reading articles and sharing updates, the [news] feed's become very liquid," said LinkedIn's senior VP-global solutions Mike Gamson. "Into that liquidity, an advertiser has an opportunity to suggest a story that might be interesting."

It's certainly roping ME in.

So LinkedIn has an army of a hundred celebrity bloggers who generate enough original content that it keeps people coming back to LinkedIn?

That's interesting, novel, and... Why has no one ever thought to do this before?

Why isn't Facebook doing a similar celebrity blog network for Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga? I guess in its own way, Facebook kind of IS, they're just focused on photos instead of valuable blog posts.

LinkedIn calls them "Thought Leaders".  IN members are drawn to their wisdom, not their effervescence.

I wonder how a person becomes a Thought Leader. Does LinkedIn reach out to them?

Is there an application process to become a Thought Leader, or is it important to limit the number?

Does LinkedIn offer them any compensation? Or just an audience for their work?

There is an application process.  I dont know about compensation.

There USED to be an application process...

http://partner.linkedin.com/influencer/

...but that page has since been removed, so perhaps they are all full up.

Someone will have to die!

Check THIS out:  http://blog.clarity.fm/become-a-thought-leader-on-linkedin/ 

Yuck.  So gamey.