LinkedIn purchased Lynda.com; an online learning company, on April 7, 2015 for $1.5 billion. In June of this year–according to Forbes–Microsoft announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which they will acquire LinkedIn for $196 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $26.2 billion, inclusive of LinkedIn’s net cash. Sounds impressive, but what does this mean for Photographers and those wanting to learn on their own? What does this mean for those of us who create content for Lynda.com?

What is Lynda.com and why should I care?

Let me take a step back for a moment. For those that don’t know, Lynda.com has been a major source for online learning since founded in 1995 by Lynda Weinman and her husband, Bruce Heavin. Lynda.com lets users learn business, technology, software, and creative skills (Photography, Photoshop, Lightroom) through videos. People can access Lynda on their own, and corporations and schools purchase subscriptions for their employees and students. I personally use Lynda.com and other online learning companies such as KelbyOne and Photoshop Cafe as a resource for learning for years. Other than photography and photo editing courses, I relied on Lynda.com to learn Wordpress, marketing, organizational skills, and writing strategies. I even sent my 90 year old father to the site to take a class on understanding Windows. Since LinkedIn and Microsoft cater to business, my concern; will there still be a place for photography and photo editing courses.

Joining forces with LinkedIn Learning took my worries away

Since joining forces with LinkedIn, Lynda.com has been hard at work building a new platform so they can combine the content they created. With LinkedIn Learning, members will benefit from a personalized user experience where courses are recommended based on their skills, their network, or the organization that they work in. Members will be able to share links to courses in their feed and with their network. The existing website, Lynda.com, will continue to be available, just as it is today. New and existing courses will automatically appear in both Lynda.com and in LinkedIn Learning. This new platform will make it easier for photographers to share their favorite courses with other colleagues. LinkedIn members will also have the ability to connect with authors in their network.

The official Announcement

Read the official blog post announcing LinkedIn Learning.

https://youtu.be/wJwoBbzSGW8?t=4m47s