LinkedIn has made some major changes to the groups in the past few weeks. The new interface was rolled out for all LinkedIn groups and has caused quite a stir amongst members.

So what has actually changed?

From the outset the groups look very different compared with the old format. The first thing you will notice is the scrolling carousel of discussions at the top of the page, that have replaced the old list of discussions. You can scroll through discussion topics and 'Like' them in a similar style to Facebook. Admittedly, this is an attractive looking feature, however this does make it more difficult to see all the discussions at one glance as you could previously see them in a single list.

Another new feature you immediately notice in the groups is the larger size of the profile pictures! Members have commented on the Facebook similarity. However, you may also notice that the professional headline that used to appear next to a persons profile has now disappeared. You now have to hover your mouse over the profile photo and a box with the persons professional headline will appear along with new clickable options. For connections it gives you the options to view the persons profile, send them a message or download the persons vcard. For members you are not connected with it offers links to 'View profile' and 'Invite to connect.'

You can also see the profile pictures of the last three contributors to a discussion and a small preview of what they said by rolling the mouse over them and you can click on them to get to the part of the discussion thread they contributed to.

It does feel a bit more personal, a bit “Facebooky”, but do members need or want a more personal feel for their professional network?

The groups also allow you to comment on discussions on the front page of the group, without even going into the discussion itself. Also, in the actual discussion, you already have a comment box on the discussion, where you can add your comment without opening a new window. (Again much like Facebook!)

A major change you will notice is that the 'News' section has disappeared from the top menu. That is because news items have now merged with discussions. This may force group managers to monitor their groups more closely to check that relevant discussion content is seen on the group page, as news items could often be places for advertising for members. Articles are often posted, which members can comment on, however they were not classed as actual discussions until now and some will argue that it is inappropriate to merge these news items with discussions.

This may also have an impact on the digest emails that members can choose to receive from their groups. For example the featured discussions displayed in the email may include news articles, which may not be related to the purpose of the group. This could perhaps disillusion some members.

Other changes include the 'Managers Choice' box displayed on the right hand side of the group page, which has links to the discussions that were previously prioritised by the group owner or manager, and always seen at the top of the discussions page. Managers can now choose up to 10 discussions to be featured on 'Managers Choice' with the selected top choice being displayed on the group page.

There is also a new feature called 'Top Influencers this week' which lists members with a bar indicator on how much they have contributed and who have stimulated most participation from other members. Members with a lot of followers will often be the main influencers.

A welcome added feature to groups is 'Search Discussions', which allows you to find discussions in topics you are interested in just by adding relevant search terms.

One of the more notable added features to the groups and also to LinkedIn use in general, is the ability to set up email alerts for people you are following. This allows you to be notified of the activities of select members of your group or other people that you are following.

If you go to 'Following' on the drop down menu.

Then you will see a list of the 'People I'm Following', where you can put email alerts on any of the people you follow. This may help you to keep track of people you see as influencers or competitors. LinkedIn sets the default so that you will automatically be following all your connections, but you can un-follow any of your connections by clicking 'stop following.'

What do the LinkedIn members think?

These changes have been implemented for about a month now and the reaction has been very negative amongst members, seen by the numerous discussion threads in the LinkedIn Answers section. Members are not happy with LinkedIn looking more like Facebook and the merging of discussions and groups in particular, making it harder for managers of groups to monitor content and also the removal of the professional headline above members photos.

There have also been many negative comments made on the LinkedIn blog post about the changes. And it also prompted a very angry blogpost on the difficulties the changes have caused in managing groups

So, what do you think about the changes to the groups on LinkedIn? Do you think LinkedIn is trying to be too similar to other networks like Facebook? Or do you embrace the more personal feel to the groups?

Let us know what you think in the discussion on the new changes in the Reach Further LinkedIn Group.