Summer travel is over and I’m back on the airwaves with Amber.

Has anyone else ever seen a web company create an investor testimonial video like this before? Very interesting, I wonder what the goal was. Paging Mario Sundar

Update: Duh, they want to go public. I somehow missed that from the article I read. I wonder how startups could use these kinds of videos to raise interest as they move through angel and VC rounds…

Today I am happy to announce that LinkedIn has raised additional funding from our original investors and added another world-class investor to our team. Bain Capital Ventures joins our existing group of investors - Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, and Bessemer Ventures - and leads this round of investment at a total of $53 million.* (LinkedIn has previously raised $27 million).

Congrats to the LinkedIn team. You have executed really well and I can’t wait to see what you accomplish next.

The US State Department has set up a Digital Outreach Team. They engage with people online, answer questions and set the record straight - while always being honest about who they are. So far they seem to be a small team that focuses on Arabic, Persian and Urdu websites.

It’s a small but important step forward in governments learning how to be transparent and human online. Imagine if this program grew to have teams for every country and language. Imagine if every country had digital diplomats.

If the team reads this, kudos to you. I’ve been engaging people online in the technology industry for a few years now, it’s not an easy job. But you can change hearts and minds. I’d love to hear more about your experiences.