If you are unfamiliar with the new feature, it is an addition for LinkedIn Messaging. It is available for mobile and desktop and allows your contacts to see if you are online or not. As such, they can see if you are available to receive messages. The Microsoft-owned network says there are two status defaults for Active Status:
“The presence of a solid green circle next to someone’s name in LinkedIn messaging means they’re currently on LinkedIn and will be instantly notified when you send them a message. The presence of a hollowed out green circle indicates that someone is not actively using LinkedIn, but has push notifications enabled on mobile so they’ll be notified instantly when you send them a message.”
This is welcome for people who do a lot of messaging. For the rest, it is frustrating that Active Status is always on by default. Personally, I do not especially want anyone to always know when I am online or not. Of course, I am OK with getting messages on LinkedIn, but in an always on state, Active Status almost takes away my right to reply to messages when I want. It turns LinkedIn into an instant messaging base.
Turn Off
Those who turn off chat in Facebook will sympathize. With that in mind, it is very good to see there is an option to turn off Active Status. However, like with Facebook chat, it will be a frustrating experience of turning off chat each time you log in or visit. It would be nice to see LinkedIn allow users to turn off Active Status and keep it off. This is really a debate about whether the feature should be on by default, or off by default (I favor the latter). A help page shows how you can turn off Active Status. It is worth noting that Active Status has yet to fully launch, with the roll out taking place over the next few weeks.
