My Complaints About LinkedIn
Over the years that I’ve worked at TLC, I’ve gone through phases where I’ve tried to give LinkedIn a chance. After all, so many people say that LinkedIn has helped their businesses grow. Many also say that ignoring LinkedIn is a foolish mistake that can hurt your immediate personal interests and your long-term professional growth. So, every once in a while, I decide to really dedicate myself to LinkedIn. Inevitably, though, I end up losing interest again. Reflecting on this seemingly never-ending cycle, I realized there are two primary complaints I have about the LinkedIn environment that always make me turn away.
1. I’m invited to network with peers instead of potential customers
I don’t know if this is the case across all industries, but as a TLC expert, I don’t want to use social media to connect with other TLC experts. On LinkedIn, where the environment is more professional and less social, I want to be able to network with potential and existing customers, not necessarily people within my own sector. Unfortunately, when LinkedIn makes recommendations about who I should connect with, it always suggests other TLC experts, sometimes even local ones. These “connections” simply don’t make sense. I don’t want to network with my competition. LinkedIn’s advice is not helpful at all!
2. The endorsements
This is a feature that LinkedIn offers, but it really makes me not want to visit the site. The general idea is that people can “endorse” you for skills and/or talents. However, there are many problems. First, no commentary is required, so a person who has never worked with you and may not even know you well can endorse you simply in the hope that you will reciprocate. That is not valuable for either of you. Speaking of reciprocating, once you start returning endorsements, LinkedIn keeps suggesting more and more people for you to endorse. Soon, endorsing - which sounds like a great gesture - can occupy the same mental capacity as flipping through channels on television. These endorsements become completely meaningless and seem more like a gaming technique than anything else.