image credit: (congrats on the LinkedIn [In]ternship!) Aaron Fawzy Old LinkedIn is Dead. â ïž Gone are the days of checking in every few weeks. We are witnessing the next great tectonic shift in the world of social media and to the surprise of many, itâs the new LinkedIn thatâs leading the charge. To most people, LinkedIn was their least-used network, where they would check in only to post their resumes or look for job candidates. Itâs still that, but it is poised to become place to be. the Finally! Appealing to a Younger Audience Now at 500 million+ users and , the business graph-focused network is ready to become the front-runner in the hearts and minds of Millennials and Gen Z, who will cautiously enter for 2 main reasons: post-Microsoftâs $26 billion acquisition ââMillennials / Gen Z want real jobs instead of their current unemployment / underemployment. Weâll see a huge demographic shift as they come in. 1âââPracticality ââNative video and active status messaging are here, not to mention a redesigned desktop UI and mobile app. 2âââFeatures This is a killer combinationâââa well rounded personal branding portrayal of the individual. New LinkedIn Becomes Your New Facebook (without the noise) Once youâre on LinkedIn for hours each day, instead of Facebook, you will consume content, share, and make your own content. Native (and eventually live) video will expand this. LinkedIn is all business, and thatâs unbelievably refreshing. Itâs not a . political cesspool like Facebook How You Can Get Ahead of the Game Make sure youâre ready: adapt your profile to the new environment: Step 1âââfix your profile header Step 2âââfix your profile summary đ Step 3âââhow to post properly with emojis (yes, emojis) What Should You Share? đ LinkedIn native video đ Active status / messaging đ Long form posts through the LinkedIn publisher platform đ Personal storytelling via text based updates Donât Try to Game the System As LinkedIn evolves, itâs inevitable that some people will try to abuse connections. People are already very sensitive to that. Avoid trying to peddle your services. Instead, let your profile speak for itself, and the value you bring to the conversation will lead people to reach out to you. The only thing you should be actively selling is your credibility. People to Watch (and Why) 1. Michaela Alexis Boldly unique Style: Going against the grain of the LinkedIn old guard, doing selfies and everything people thought was âwrong,â Michaela has gone from ! What to Expect: being fired to CEO in a year Michaela regularly puts out image rich content (coffee is usually involved) and just put out . her first video 2. Oleg Vishnepolsky Old-school text master Style: As the Global CTO for Daily Mail, Oleg has decades of inspirational business stories to share. Heâs the master of the text-based post. So if you fancy yourself a writer, check out Oleg. Every day. What to Expect: 3. Josh Fechter Documenting the story Style: Josh runs a huge Facebook group (15k) and has been documenting his journey to the top. Josh isnât afraid to mince words or tell the . Watch for him to amp up his video game! What to Expect: low points of his story (Yours truly) 4. Brian Wallace This isnât ego bait. Iâm committed to putting out regular content in the form of text-based status updates, native video, and longer form posts on the publishing platform, such as the one youâre reading right now. đ What Does Viral Success Look Like on LinkedIn? This. and it is still growing, with more than 845,000 views. I wrote this a week ago Things to Avoid đ Donât tag 100 of your friends. You donât do that anymore on FB, right? đ Donât beg people to share. đ Donât ask for comments. đ Donât add spam comments. Once your post starts gaining traction, engage your audience with meaningful and insightful commentary. Be ready to respond! Whatâs Next for LinkedIn? Live Video đŹ This seems like an obvious next step. Once this happens, expect some major social time funneled away from Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook Live, and Twitterâs Periscope. My friend has a and is mixing up some original content worth giving a look. String Nguyen viral LinkedIn video LinkedIn IRL Meetups đ± Be on the lookout for Linkedin Meetups. Yes, in person! has been leading the pack on this (and an amazing person to follow), already having successful meetups in NYC and China. Manu âSwishâ Goswami Hereâs a look at his last NYC meetup. đĄ has been doing . Talk about a global community! Anna McAfee meetups in Australia đĄ has been rolling out at college campuses. Helps like going to the guidance counselor đ Rob Humphrey LinkedIn day How do you see the future of LinkedIn? Let me know in the comments! ________________________________________________ Brian Wallace is the Founder of , the top rated infographic agency in the nation. Connect with him on , , and if youâre really into what he does, to chat. About the Author: NowSourcing LinkedIn Twitter Book a time (Special thanks to Jan Winter , Doc Sheldon , and Chuck Hester for contributing to this post. This post originally appeared on LinkedIn .)