Stop complaining about LinkedIn

For the past couple of months, the #RIPLinkedin hashtag has had a regular spot on my social media feeds. But is LinkedIn really dying, or are we having an issue with the ‘social’ component of this media platform?

Everything started when a LinkedIn post complaining about bikini shots, InMail dating requests, and ‘math problems’ appearing way too often on the LinkedIn feed went viral, gaining over 20,000 likes and 5,000 comments.

From there, it snowballed to people tweeting snapshots of cats on LinkedIn posts, talking about closing their LI accounts, and going on about the Facebookification of LinkedIn.

But are these complaints raising an issue with the platform design or a user problem?

Diversity is part of the equation

What I found most disturbing about the #RIPLinkedIn 'movement' is that at the root of most of the comments, there seems to be an intolerance towards those who express themselves or who may approach professional networking in a different manner to the status quo. In short, a hostility towards diversity.

Let's be honest. It seems like most of us don't want pictures of food on our feeds unless we are following a chef, and would prefer profile pictures and updates with less skin showing. Still, does this give us the right to try to push our views on everyone else and dictate what is appropriate or not to post on a social media channel?

This bias was evident in the case of Candice Galek, CEO and Founder of BikiniLuxe.com.  She, like many of us, joined LinkedIn to network and promote her products.

The difference was that instead of “content marketing" or blogging, her approach was more direct. Candice posted pictures of her products; in other words, beautiful images of women in bikinis accompanied by the perfect headline to drive user engagement: "Is this appropriate for LinkedIn?

Needless to say, she got what she bargained for, and LI users came in masses to respond to her posts with both positive and negative comments, the latter ones loud enough to get her account taken down for a little while.

So, the question remains of whether we are against the bikini shots because they are not "appropriate" in professional environments or simply because we don't want people showing skin on LinkedIn. If it is the latter, why is it that when Candice posted a picture of a shirtless male model with the same headline, the reaction was nearly nonexistent?

Irrespective of what your position is in regards to her bikini posts, if we judge Candice's strategy from a business outcomes perspective, her results are not bad.

In just two weeks, BikiniLuxe increased sales by 20%, and her number of LinkedIn followers increased by over 30,000.

Let's be clear on this point, though. Not every bikini shot you find on LinkedIn is 'business relevant' as the ones posted by Candice are. However, you do have to wonder where the rage they have produced is coming from. Especially when we all have -  at the tips of our fingers - the tools required to get rid of them.

Networking, but not social?

The #RIPLinkedIn tweets covered many  'flaws' of the platform, but, in my opinion, none more memorable than the one asking for the removal of the wall posting feature from LinkedIn.

Let me understand this: you have joined a social media platform for professional networking, but you do not want the ability to share content with your connections?

What kind of networking is that? Isn't connecting without the possibility of open interaction and engagement the same as exchanging business cards in the real world, but with no intention of communicating with the other person in a public setting? How is that helpful to create business opportunities?

Networking means exchanging ideas, thoughts, and potential business opportunities.  If you are still using your LinkedIn just to post your resume and you find other people's opinions annoying, is that really a LinkedIn problem or you missing out on the real potential of the platform?

You have a choice.

Let's be frank. The problem is not LinkedIn shoving 'inappropriate' content down our throats but is about some users not managing their connections and feeds according to their needs.

If you accept every connection request that comes to your inbox, focusing on the number of connections rather than their relevance, undoubtedly, you are going to get a significant number of connections, but the quality of your network may suffer. It is your choice, though.

Likewise, you have the option to hide a particular post, unfollow people, delete a connection, ignore InMails, and even block someone if you want. The choices are many, and they are all available to you.

So my question to all of you out there who are so unhappy about LinkedIn is, why do you prefer to whine about LinkedIn before taking advantage of the options for feed management the platform offers to you?

If you want to use a social media platform like LinkedIn, you need to remember that the social aspect is at the heart of all interactions. This means you need to be prepared to deal with people that have different opinions, different business goals and different tastes to yours. 

If you want a place where you control everyone's voice, I'm afraid that boring place is not a social media channel. And LinkedIn not fitting those requirements is not a flaw of the platform, but a benefit.

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Originally published on LinkedIn

#SocialMedia #Diversity