LinkedIn Pulse

LinkedIn Pulse was the brand name LinkedIn used from 2014 to roughly 2017 for its long-form publishing platform, which allowed any member to publish articles directly on LinkedIn (rather than linking out to a blog). Pulse started as a separate news-reader app LinkedIn acquired in 2013, then evolved into the publishing layer baked into every profile.

At launch, Pulse was a meaningful traffic source. Articles got featured in topical channels (Marketing, Technology, Entrepreneurship), and well-written posts could pull tens of thousands of views from LinkedIn's editorial curation. A handful of writers built large followings primarily through Pulse articles in that era.

LinkedIn quietly dropped the Pulse branding around 2017 and folded the feature into the standard "Write Article" button on every profile. The capability still exists but is rarely the best distribution choice today. Long-form articles get far less feed reach than text or video posts, because the algorithm pushes feed-native formats and treats articles more like newsletters.

Where articles still matter: they index in Google search, they look credible on a profile, and they pair well with LinkedIn Newsletters (which are built on the article publishing infrastructure). If you publish a newsletter, every issue is technically an article.

Most people who say "LinkedIn Pulse" today are either referring to the historical brand or to LinkedIn's long-form publishing in general. The product hasn't been called Pulse for years.