Changes to Events, Search Results, and Job Ads as well as Different News Options

As is the case every Wednesday, XING is making a number of changes to its platform. Most of these are to do with events, how search results are displayed, and some of the job ad features.

The developments we have come up with include optimizations to specific features, whereas others have an effect on the entire platform. Our microsite with the mobile XING versions has been revamped so you are now presented with clear information about using XING with your mobile end device. Improvements have also been made when diacritic characters, e.g. umlauts or cedillas, are used in company names, for example, to make your searches more precise and efficient at the same time.

News on the Platform

A number of new features will also be added in the near future to make it much easier for you to share external content and news with your network. One such example is the share function, which is currently in the pipeline and will soon allow you to share links to news sites, company websites, and blogs with your XING contacts. In terms of the XING Partner Ecosystem, we’re already working with a partner on a new app to allow you to subscribe to and call up the latest news from external sites.

Within this context, we decided to remove the OpenSocial app “News of the day” (formerly “XING News”) as user numbers failed to meet our expectations and we are currently exploring other ways of integrating news on XING. You still have the option of sharing interesting information with your network by editing your status. Don’t forget to visit our blog again in the next few weeks for more information about these changes.

Improved Search Result Layout

We have improved the results layout when you carry out a search by member on the XING platform. Until now, the criteria you selected, e.g., filter by zip code, only appeared in shortened form on the right-hand side, and it was often unclear what it was supposed to stand for. As a result, we decided to move the filter criteria and the button for creating search alerts to the top of the results list.

This new layout contains two new features: The option of switching between a concise and detailed results view (“Change view” in the top right of the gray box) and a new information text (currently “Best hits first”) containing a description of how the search results are compiled.

Events and XING Jobs Optimizations

In terms of XING Events, a lot of users wanted us to re-introduce the feature where the venue can be viewed on a map integrated within the event page. XING is always keen to make sure that users are getting the information they need and want, so we are happy to announce that this feature is back online again. When it comes to group events, the group logo now appears on the event page in order to increase the group’s recognition levels.

On top of this, we also fixed a number of minor bugs and modified a feature that caused some confusion in the past. If an event organizer chose to make the guest list only visible to himself or herself, and then a XING member agreed to participate in the event, then the XING member would only see “Participants: 1”, i.e., he or she is presumably the only person who signed up to the event.  From now on, however, guest lists are all treated in the same way, meaning that information about the hidden guest list is displayed (if the organizer selects this option) rather than displaying the wrong number of participants.

The improvements we made to XING Jobs are aimed at making job recommendations even more relevant than before. The recently introduced “Jobs in my network” filter now takes account of whether the language in which a job ad is written matches the languages you entered in your profile. The small icons indicating the contact level to other XING members also make it easier for you to find your way around XING Jobs.