This comes as a bit of a surprise.

LinkedIn has revealed that it will be discontinuing its "Top Voice" badges for those contributing to Collaborative Articles. These badges have seemingly served as a significant incentive for individuals to share their insights in AI-generated content.

Originally launched in March of last year, Collaborative Articles use AI-generated prompts as a starting point and invite specific LinkedIn users to share their expertise on the selected topics.

By contributing to a sufficient number of these posts, users earned a coveted "Top Voice" badge, which appeared next to their names in the app, enhancing their perceived authority on LinkedIn.

As noted, this incentive has reportedly motivated millions to share their knowledge and insights, resulting in a fourfold increase in weekly member contributions to Collaborative Articles from one quarter to the next as of March this year.

However, LinkedIn has now decided to eliminate these in-stream badges.

According to LinkedIn (via Lindsey Gamble):

“Starting October 8th, 2024, LinkedIn will retire the gold Community Top Voice badge. This means you will no longer automatically receive the badge just for contributing to collaborative articles. If you currently have one, it will expire within 60 days of being awarded.”

So, why is LinkedIn choosing to remove this form of recognition?

It appears that allowing users to position themselves as experts by merely contributing to AI-generated content does not truly reflect genuine expertise.

“Since the launch, we’ve observed an increasing number of people collaborating to share their insights and learn from one another through collaborative articles. With this growth, we’re also receiving more feedback from our community. We’ve discovered that it is challenging to uphold high-quality standards for our Community Top Voice badges, as they are currently granted automatically to contributors, rather than being manually awarded by our team.”

In other words, LinkedIn users have raised concerns about certain individuals not being true experts, and upon investigation, LinkedIn has found that the current system is indeed giving recognition to people who may not possess the requisite skills or knowledge.

This highlights a risk inherent in AI-based merit systems, where individuals will compete for any online accolades offered, regardless of their actual expertise. It’s likely that many of the so-called Top Voice contributors also utilized AI to craft their responses, and LinkedIn has now received enough negative feedback to conclude that this recognition system is flawed.

However, this change may also lead to a decline in interest in Collaborative Articles as a result.

As mentioned, Collaborative Articles have emerged as one of LinkedIn's most popular content formats, likely because users needed to contribute their insights to earn and retain their Top Voice badge.

Without this badge as an incentive, it's uncertain how many users will be motivated to respond to AI-generated prompts.

However, LinkedIn is promoting the following benefits:

“You might be wondering why you should contribute now. Here’s the deal:

- Show your expertise: Sharing your insights establishes you as a knowledgeable figure in your industry.
- Expand your network: Contributing can lead to new connections and opportunities.
- Help others: Your insights can assist fellow professionals in navigating common workplace challenges.”

This can be interpreted as LinkedIn recognizing that interest in Collaborative Articles may decline, but it's attempting to maintain enthusiasm to keep the format alive.

Yet, it’s likely that this effort will fall short. Current badge holders will be frustrated about losing their recognition, while those without badges may not find enough motivation to participate.

LinkedIn has stated that existing Top Voice badge holders will have their badges removed within 60 days of being awarded, with all badges scheduled to disappear from the app by December 7th, 2024.

Ultimately, this might signal the end of Collaborative Articles as a viable format, although there could still be some potential exposure value in it.

NOTE:- LinkedIn has clarified that there will be no changes to its Top Voice (blue badge) program, which is awarded solely by invitation from its editorial team.