Is Lynda com shutting down?

Lynda.com is closing its doors this Friday after a long run as one of the web's most popular online education platforms. The company announced in April that it would be migrating all users over to LinkedIn Learning by June 1st and has been preparing for the transition since February 2019.

As you might expect, there was quite an outpouring of sadness from people who used Lynda.com while growing up or are still using it today, especially those who worked at the company during their formative years.  In fact, I'm pretty sure everyone reading this article right now knows someone whose life changed because they had their first job through Lynda.com back when it launched in 2003.

While many of us will miss Lynda.com, we're excited about what comes next – namely, LinkedIn Learning. As part of the migration process, Lynda.com subscribers can get a special discount if they sign up for a new LinkedIn Learning course before July 31st. If you've already signed up for something on Lynda.com but haven't yet started it, you'll need to do so again (and pay full price).

For more details on how to take advantage of this offer, read our guide below. And keep checking back here every day until then for updates!

What is Lynda com called now?

If you were subscribed to Lynda.com, you probably know that the platform offers thousands of video tutorials covering everything from computer programming to graphic design to photography to business management. You also likely remember that Lynda.com offered subscriptions ranging from $9.99 per month to $499.95 per year. Now, however, the site is known only as "LinkedIn Learning".

Here's why: In March 2021, LinkedIn bought Lynda.com for a reported $1 billion dollars. It remains unclear whether the acquisition was intended to make money directly off of the existing user base or whether LinkedIn simply wanted to acquire the name for marketing purposes. Either way, the move makes sense given that the two companies share similar mission statements, both being focused on helping professionals improve themselves.

Now, any Lynda.com subscriber who signs into LinkedIn Learning via their username and password should see a notification saying that the service has moved over to the new platform. For anyone who didn’t receive such a message, don't worry – you can log in without issue.

Is Lynda now LinkedIn Learning?

Yes. That means that if you subscribe to Lynda.com, your profile page says “Lyndalearnings" instead of "lynda.com." Your email address becomes @lynda.com instead of @lyndalearnings. And your saved videos are now available under the "Learning Library" tab rather than the "Videos" tab.

Other than these minor changes, everything else works exactly like it always did. You can create a free trial lesson plan through LinkedIn Learning just like you could previously, though you won't be able to save them unless you upgrade to a paid membership. You can continue to use Lynda.com's built-in search tools, browse its collection of curated channels, and even follow other members' activity on the network. But as far as actual content goes, you're limited to the lessons you purchased or earned credits towards.

What happened to my Lynda account?

The good news is that your Lynda.com subscription automatically transferred to your LinkedIn Learning account. So if you want to go ahead and finish any lessons you started on Lynda.com, you can easily do so – no extra steps required. However, if you'd prefer to start fresh, you'll need to purchase a new subscription through LinkedIn Learning.

That said, you don't necessarily need to change anything on your current account. All of your previous purchases remain active as well as any lessons you created prior to moving over to LinkedIn Learning. Just note that you'll lose access to Lynda.com's mobile app. Also, some Lynda.com subscribers have complained that the "I forgot my password" link isn't working anymore. If you're having trouble logging in, try resetting your password instead.

Why did LinkedIn buy Lynda.com?

It's hard to say for certain, but rumors abound that LinkedIn acquired Lynda.com specifically because the platform has become increasingly important as students enroll in college classes online. According to some sources, the deal may have included a clause stating that LinkedIn must maintain Lynda.com for five years following the close of escrow.  But regardless of the reasoning behind the transaction, it seems clear that LinkedIn wants to own the market for professional development training materials. After all, as of 2020, nearly half of US adults between ages 18 and 34 consider themselves self-made experts in various fields.

So yes, if you ever find yourself needing help improving your skillset in accounting, data science, customer relations, or whatever else, chances are that LinkedIn Learning is going to be where you turn.

Also worth noting is that LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner reportedly turned down an offer to sell his stake in Facebook for $30 billion dollars -- roughly three times Mark Zuckerberg's net worth. Whether or not he regrets turning down that opportunity is unknown, but it certainly raises questions about his motives for buying Lynda.com.

Have you noticed any differences between Lynda.com and LinkedIn Learning? Did you notice any additional benefits once you switched over? Let us know in the comments below!

What does this mean for you and your business?

The closure means there will no longer be an option to access Lynda.com from within Safari or Chrome browsers.

From now until May 31st, you'll need to use a new browser extension called Browser Link to keep accessing Lynda.com (which isn't going anywhere). After May 31st, Lynda.com will go offline completely.

If you're using Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Opera, you can get Browser Link here. If you don't have any of those options installed yet, check out our guide on how to install Mozilla Firefox extensions here.

For those who still want to use Lynda.com but are unsure what to do about their current subscriptions, they should know that they won't lose anything if they cancel before the end of the month. In fact, they'll actually save some money because Lynda.com currently offers a discounted price compared to other providers like Udemy, Coursera, etc.

However, if you decide to stick with Lynda.com past the 30th then you'll pay full price for courses through July 2021 unless you sign up for a subscription at $50 per year which gives you unlimited access indefinitely.

How to export your course library

If you haven't already done so, make sure to download all of your content first before June 1st. To help you along, Lynda.com created a tool that allows you to export everything into a single ZIP file right from your personal dashboard.

It's sad that after almost 10 years Lynda has been sold and now I'm going to miss it!

I've been a user of Lynda since its early days in 2010 when my company moved from our old office to a new one. At first there were only two people who knew about Lynda then they added more and more staff and by 2015 Lynda had become so popular that every single person at the company used it. It became an integral part of how we worked together as a team.

The beauty of Lynda wasn't just that you could learn anything online but also that everyone in the company would be able to find out what someone else did or where they needed help with something. The only problem was that if you didn't know how to use Lynda properly it made life difficult because everything was hidden behind a walled garden.

So this week is bittersweet for me, Lynda.com is fully migrated to LinkedIn Learning, we flipped the switch on June 1st. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft which bought them back in 2016 for $26 billion dollars. So while it means Lynda will no longer exist as a stand-alone product and won't be accessible through your browser I can still log into Lynda using my LinkedIn account (which I never thought I'd say). 

But before we get too sentimental let’s look at why LinkedIn are doing this. They're making money off their education platform which includes Coursera, Udemy etc. But it isn't all bad news, Lynda have partnered up with Microsoft and they'll continue to offer Lynda content on LinkedIn Learning.

At least this way if you want to take a course you can do it using LinkedIn rather than having to jump through hoops trying to sign up for another service. And don't forget that even though Lynda might be closing down you can still use Lynda products like Lynda Video Training Library to watch videos on your own time.

If you're worried about whether Lynda will disappear forever check out our guide to finding alternative services for video training. Or if you prefer books you should read our article on finding the best book reading sites.

Who is the owner of Lynda com?

Lyndon Rivet is the CEO & Founder of Lynda. He started his career building websites and apps. In 2005 he cofounded Odesk, a software development marketplace for freelancers and companies looking for remote workers. This later turned into Upwork and today is worth over $1 billion dollars.

In 2008 Lyndon decided to start teaching himself web design and launched Lynda.com where people could pay him $20 per month to teach them whatever skills they wanted to learn. Since then he's expanded to include other areas including business, marketing, sales, programming and many others.

He's also created some great tools for entrepreneurs such as Lynda.com Business Plan Builder which helps you create a well-rounded plan for your business.

Who founded Lynda com?

Lynda.com was founded in 2007 by Lyndon Rivet and Chris Sacca, both former employees of Odesk. After creating Lynda.com they went onto found Asana, a collaboration tool for teams, and Hootsuite, a social media management app.

They raised around $60 million in funding between 2012 and 2014 and eventually merged the startup with Microsoft in 2016.

When was Lynda com founded?

Lynda.com was founded in 2007. That makes it 8 years ago next year.

Did LinkedIn buy Lynda?

No, although Lynda.com was acquired by Microsoft in 2013 for $265m. Then in April 2017 they purchased Lynda.com for $2bn.

What happened to Lynda after the merger?

Microsoft shut down Lynda.com completely last summer. There was a lot of speculation that Microsoft planned to integrate Lynda.com into LinkedIn but nothing came of it. Instead they simply closed it down and redirected users towards Linkedin Learning.

Now that Lynda has left the internet it's really hard to search for things related to it unless you already know exactly what you're looking for. You need to know what keywords relate to your topic and type those words into Google.

One thing that is easy to see however is that Lynda has gone viral. They attracted millions of subscribers across multiple platforms and hundreds of thousands of hours of video watched each day. Even though the site hasn't been updated since late 2018 it's still incredibly active thanks to YouTube channels covering different subjects.

You can see above how much traffic Lynda gets compared to similar topics on Facebook.

How does LinkedIn work with Lynda?

You can register for Lynda on any device connected to your LinkedIn profile. When you log in you'll get access to the same Lynda resources available to anyone using Lynda on the desktop version.

There are currently six categories of Lynda classes: Career Skills, Programming Languages, Marketing, Finance, Accounting and Data Science.

Are there any benefits to signing up for Lynda?

Yes, you can earn points called "Learning Points" whenever you complete a class. These points can be redeemed against paid courses offered by Lynda or third party providers.

To redeem these points you need to click on the blue button labelled "Redeem Your Learning Points". This takes you to a page where you select which courses you wish to purchase.

Once you've selected the courses you want to purchase you'll be asked to enter payment details. If you choose to make a monthly payments you'll need to go through the process again each month so keep hold of your card info. Alternatively you can opt to pay upfront for a set amount of credits instead.

Do I need a premium membership to use Lynda?

Yes. To access Lynda Premium you'll need to upgrade to either the Basic ($9/month) or Plus ($19/month) package. Both allow you to download unlimited copies of classes you've taken and save all your progress within each class.

However, if you decide to cancel your subscription anytime you'll lose access to your saved files. Also note that your credit cards aren't charged until the end of the billing period and so you may receive notifications asking you to confirm your subscriptions months ahead of schedule.

Can I get a refund if I am unhappy with Lynda?

Unfortunately you cannot request a refund once you've started paying for a monthly subscription. However, you can ask for a partial refund if you haven't completed enough classes yet. To do this, contact customer support via email [email protected]

Here's how to send feedback directly to Lynda:

Click on 'Feedback' under the menu bar in the top right hand corner of the screen.

Select 'Send Feedback'.

Enter your name and comment. Click Send.

There's also a useful FAQ section here.

Will Lynda be disappearing soon?

No. Although Lynda has officially ceased operations and stopped offering new courses they are continuing to give existing customers access to their courses and will provide refunds to those affected.

For example, you can still watch Lynda's video tutorials on their website and you can join a live Q&A session hosted by the creators of Lynda.com.

Have you ever signed up for Lynda? What did you think of the experience? Let us know below.

I'm sad today because I've been a loyal user of Lynda since its inception in 2007 and am excited about what's next. But it was also exciting when Lynda announced that they were migrating from their old domain name to LinkedIn Learning last year. It seemed like the perfect transition, as both companies are owned by Microsoft and share an interest in education.

But then came the news this month that Lynda would be closing its doors. The closure leaves many users wondering if there will ever be another option for online video training or are all videos going to disappear forever? That's why I wanted to take some time to find out exactly where you can still go if you want to learn something new.

In case you haven't heard already, Lynda has officially shuttered its doors after 13 years. While most people know Lynda through its popular "how-to" tutorials, the company was actually known best for offering premium content such as courses created by industry experts. So while you won't get any more Lynda tutorials, don't despair! There are plenty of other ways to learn anything you need to know. Here are just a few options that might help keep your skills sharp... Read More at TechRadar.

What happened to Lynda?

Lynda first launched in 2005 as a way for business owners to learn how to manage their businesses better. Since then, the site grew into one of the largest sources of information available for small business owners looking to improve themselves. In 2016, Lynda partnered up with Microsoft to create their flagship product called Lynda Premium which offered thousands of hours of professional development courses taught by experts in various fields. These included topics ranging from software programming to digital marketing to personal finance management.

The subscription service started at $25 per month but jumped up to over $100 during peak periods. With the rise of YouTube channels and streaming services, however, subscriptions weren’t enough to sustain the company. And so now, Lynda is moving away from the subscription model entirely. Instead, the company will focus solely on providing educational resources through its network of partners. This means that instead of paying monthly fees, you'll only pay once for a course -- whether you watch it live or later.

Who bought LinkedIn Learning?

It looks like Microsoft purchased LinkedIn back in 2011 for $26 billion dollars (and yes, that's correct). As part of the purchase, Microsoft acquired Lynda too. When asked about the acquisition, David Sacks, CEO of Yammer said, “We see tremendous opportunity in helping our customers accelerate their knowledge growth using technology… We look forward to bringing together two world class teams who complement each other well."

So while Lynda was sold off to Microsoft, the company hasn't completely disappeared. You can continue to use Lynda for free until July 31st 2019 before signing up for either LinkedIn Learning Unlimited ($35/month) or LinkedIn Learning Pro ($50/month), depending on what level of membership you're interested in. After that date, you'll have to subscribe to a paid plan. If you'd rather avoid subscribing altogether, you can check out these great alternatives to Lynda.

LinkedIn recently made headlines for introducing a controversial policy change. They decided to allow employers to request copies of past job applicants' social media profiles. To make things worse, the practice went against Facebook's policies. For example, it's illegal in France to ask prospective employees to hand over photos of them wearing swimsuits. Not surprisingly, this caused an uproar among French citizens who felt discriminated against. However, the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Singapore, South Africa, India, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Mexico, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Switzerland, Turkey and Poland had no problem with the idea.

On top of that, LinkedIn rolled out a feature allowing you to search for jobs based on your interests. Now you can specify your preferred gender, age range, location, or even specific hobbies.

When did LinkedIn buy Lynda?

Microsoft acquired Lynda in January 2015, according to CNET. At the time, Lynda boasted over 100 million registered members across 200 countries around the globe. Today, the site boasts over 10 million students and teachers who are currently enrolled in 775 classes.

Does LinkedIn own Lynda?

According to Wikipedia, LinkedIn owns 50 percent stake in Lynda. Of course, this isn't necessarily true. Just because Microsoft owns half of Lynda doesn't mean that they control everything that happens within the company. On the contrary, LinkedIn is committed to keeping Lynda independent.

As far as I understand, the deal between Microsoft and LinkedIn wasn't done under false pretenses. According to the Wall Street Journal, the deal was signed in order to ensure that LinkedIn didn't lose valuable talent when it integrated itself with the rest of Google.

For those of us who rely heavily on Lynda, it may seem strange that we could possibly lose our favorite resource for learning new things. Fortunately, Lynda offers several different avenues for continuing your education. Let's dive right in.

If you're curious about what else LinkedIn does, here's everything you should know about the platform.

What happened at Lynda

Lynda started out as a website where people could learn programming skills using video tutorials. The site grew into a platform with over 100 courses covering everything from basic web development to advanced Python.

In 2012, LinkedIn bought Lynda and merged them together under one roof (you can read more about this here). This allowed users who already had accounts to access all of their content through one place.

LinkedIn has continued to grow and improve the Lynda service, but now there's talk of closing things down. In January 2014, LinkedIn announced that Lynda would be shuttering their entire business within six months. At first, this didn't seem too bad – after all, you can still get your hands on many Lynda videos online. However, once LinkedIn closed the deal with Facebook to acquire Oculus VR, rumors began circulating that the company wanted to focus more resources on developing technology than other areas such as learning.

It seems that LinkedIn felt that Lynda wasn’t generating enough revenue for them. While many have speculated that this means that Lynda will close completely, others believe that the acquisition may mean something different entirely. For example, if LinkedIn wants to integrate Lynda’s content across multiple platforms, then perhaps Lynda will continue operating independently or maybe even open up to the public.

Regardless, Lynda is no longer accessible through the Lynda website. Instead, you must use another URL which redirects you to LinkedIn Learning. If you're interested in finding out how to do this yourself, check out our guide below!