Because it's halftime 2014 and the past six months have included lots of changes on LinkedIn, I've put together a summary of the significant changes.

I've categorized them and ordered them from "best" to "bummer" based on my opinion of the significance of each change. And I've also shared with you my two cents about each LinkedIn feature that's been added, deleted or changed.

If you're interested in a deeper dive into any of the changes, just click the link to get more information.

Best

Who's Viewed Your Profile now includes filters. According to my 2013 and 2014 LinkedIn user surveys, Who's Viewed Your Profile is the top rated LinkedIn feature. And it has gotten even better because you can now filter the people who looked at your profile by company, geographic region, title, and much more.

You can now see Who's Viewed Your Updates. If you are spending time sharing updates (and, of course, you should be doing this), it's now a big help to know what updates not only resonate with your audience but also who is sharing, "liking" or commenting on them.

Everyone can now publish long-form articles on his/her profile. For people who are already blogging, this one is a slam dunk. For people who have yet to venture into writing their own long-form articles in their area of expertise, this is a perfect way to start.

New, much cheaper premium account upgrades are now available. Now, for as little as $7.99/month, you can get a few extras, most importantly the ability to use the new filters mentioned above for all the folks who checked you out in the last 90 days. Once you start getting a lot of profile views, this one is well worth the money.

Pretty Good

The Endorsements & Skills section of your profile now has improved settings. What is already the most misunderstood profile section and feature on LinkedIn got a little better but still has a way to go. Managing this section is of utmost importance to improving your search ranking.

Premium members' profiles have visual improvements. You now get a larger hero type photo/banner, and your picture is bigger on your profile. But more importantly, more information is displayed about premium members when they are included in an advanced search listing.

The activity feed on each member's profile is back, and it's also enhanced, although somewhat hard to find. It's always good for others to see that you are sharing good thought leadership type information, but it is also helpful for you to be able to see what's on someone else's mind when checking out his/her profile.

There's a new iPhone app just for job seekers. You can't stop the movement to mobile, and if you're in job-seeking mode, I'd suggest downloading this ASAP. Does the app allow you to use all of the LinkedIn features? No, but being able to search for jobs while sitting on a bus or during halftime of your kid's soccer game (so you don't miss a new posting) has got to be good.

The People You May Know feature has been enhanced. The photos are larger, making it easier to recognize people, and you're now able to send out a personalized invitation to connect with anyone who appears on this list.

Bummer

The company page Products and Services Tab has been eliminated. This is the biggest bummer of the first half of 2014. I could go on and on about how frustrated I am that this has been eliminated, but who's really listening anyway. It's supposedly replaced with Showcase Pages…yeah, right.

You can now see how the number of  profile views you receive ranks against the number of views other members receive. It's an interesting concept but has caused more questions than answers for most of the folks I've talked to. It reminds me a little of the letter that went out a year or so ago that congratulated people on being in the top 1%, 5%, 10% of people on LinkedIn in profile views, which really turned out to be just a super effective marketing campaign for LinkedIn.

The LinkedIn inbox has been "improved." I'm not sure what all the hype is about with regard to the inbox. Instead, I wish they would have improved our ability to message a group of people in our network. Maybe next time...maybe not.

I hope you find lots of ways to take advantage of these upgrades in the second half of 2014.