[am1m]

Originally Posted by Small Bot

Well, I shouldn't really be saying this...But if you ever see me on LinkedIn, it means I'm actively searching for a new job.

I get what you mean, but I think it's high time companies and managers stop pretending that this is an issue. People look for jobs, people leave jobs, nothing to take personally. That's what LinkedIn is for.

Originally Posted by Small Bot

I'm in the WhatsApp groups of five different companies I've worked (or working) for

I hate company-wide whatsapp groups! That's what e-mail or the company-specific messaging service is for, which can also be installed on the phone as an app. Why do i need another company/team WA group?!

And another thing I can't understand, why don't people leave company WA groups after they leave the company? What is the advantage of staying on? Perhaps I'm just becoming an old bugger, but I really don't get why someone would want to stay on.

[Jeroen]

Ever since I retired I have hardly checked LinkedIn. I dont get any messages, so I need to go and check.

In all honesty I never felt LinkedIn was that special or useful. For me your network is about people you actually know and have or are interacting with. It’s like my Facebook Friends. A few are true friends but many I have never really interacted with.

So it never really helped me professionally, looking for talent or being asked for new positions

Jeroen

[Small Bot]

Originally Posted by am1m

I get what you mean, but I think it's high time companies and managers stop pretending that this is an issue.

I do agree fully. There's nothing wrong with people seeking jobs elsewhere while working in a company. Nothing illegal or unethical about it. But I have seen quite a few vengeful managers in my time, who take it personally when people in their teams want out. I've witnessed my Head-HR of the company I used to work for many years ago, assign a person to just keep an eye out on the LinkedIn/Naukri/job portal activities of his team members.

So it's become almost second nature to be discreet about searching for jobs. I know it's ugly, that's why I said I shouldn't be saying this as an HR dude. But that's a conversation for another time and forum.

Originally Posted by am1m

I hate company-wide whatsapp groups! That's what e-mail or the company-specific messaging service is for, which can also be installed on the phone as an app.

These are not company-wide groups. More like company HR groups only. And there're requests for the ex-colleagues to stay connected, so I do. But there are a few opinionated folks who keep shoving their views down everyone's throats, especially in the academic alumni groups - school, college, B-school alumni. I generally have them all muted and go there only when I want some entertainment.

In LinkedIn, I can just close the browser. And yes, I always uninstall the LinkedIn app on a new phone or disable it when the phone doesn't allow it.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by GTO

- Twitter / X has gone to the dogs, Facebook has gone to the dogs, Instagram Reels are hot, and TikTok has become massive (except in India where it's banned).

So is the case for Linkedin too - there's a lot of crap flying around on Linkedin under the tag of a "Trusted Linkedin Influencer". Linkedin is filled with it these days.

Easiest way of figuring out a Linkedin influencer is
1. a "+" sign at the end of his name
2. A lot of tags (e.g. ex-bigFirm) in his/her profile name


Source: Link


Example shared above - there are many such more in the above link. Basically, I tend to stay away from any posts from such profiles that get shared & reshared (say on WhatsApp); and unfollow such profiles immediately.

Originally Posted by speedmiester

As someone who uses LinkedIn for more than 5-6 hours every day, LinkedIn has also gone to dogs.
LinkedIn has transitioned to just another Social Media platform from a Professional Network.
I no longer enjoy being on LinkedIn, but unfortunately it is essential for my work.

+100

Only purpose I use Linkedin regularly is to gather any information with regards to the background of any profile (e.g. an individual I'm going to work with or hire).

The other aspect is to refer to the jobs section on Linkedin when needed - some firms use this platform extensively and keep their job details updated regularly.

[KrisTvpm]

Till 2-3 years ago, not a single day passed that didn't have me open up linkedin also along with my company intranet/stackoverflow/emails/other reference sites/T-BHP!

Now I hardly open it once a week! Feel like it has dumbed down a lot, as compared to 2015 - 2020 times. Don't feel compelled to use it as much as before. Heck, I even use X on my mobilephone atleast 30-45min daily, but not lkdn

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Small Bot

I've witnessed my Head-HR of the company I used to work for many years ago, assign a person to just keep an eye out on the LinkedIn/Naukri/job portal activities of his team members.

Unbelievable. How do such jokers rise that high in organizations?!

Originally Posted by Small Bot

But there are a few opinionated folks who keep shoving their views down everyone's throats,...

There's one on every WA group- family group, friends group, college, work, workout/hobby group...
(I blocked an uncle of mine once- his 'good morning' messages coupled with conspiracy theory forwards were becoming too much to handle!)

Like meetings, once a WA group crosses a certain size, it stops being useful and becomes a waste of everyone's time.

[vb-saan]

As a social platform I feel LinkedIn is on a downhill coasting mode. Heavy influencer traffic, lot of junk posted for the sake of being visible, posts about some random certifications, and loads of mutual recommendations.

On the positive side, it works very well as a recruiting platform, and have hugely helped in saving on external recruiter/headhunter cost.

[Red Liner]

Why I do not log on to LinkedIn anymore:

Yes, social media can be depressing, however, the amount of anxiety that LinkedIn instilled in me is unmatched. “I am not logging into LinkedIn until my mental health gets better.” A promise I made to myself around this time last year, back when I would spend hours and hours editing my profile to make sure it looks at least presentable

What is so anxiety-inducing about LinkedIn lies in the hustle culture it promotes, one in which people are expected to work relentlessly, a culture of perfectionism, of competition, of not feeling enough. What usually happens is that: I log into LinkedIn to update my profile and look through its job portal for new openings, but of course, almost without fail, I feel the need to check how your peers are doing too. I would search for a random name of a classmate, see their accomplishments, feel bad about myself because I’m not doing enough despite studying in the same programme, click on their entries to find out more about their work, wonder if there are similar jobs that I could also do, start looking for jobs, feel even worse because I can’t find any yet refuse to leave the site until I find something or someone that could give me hope about the future. The LinkedIn rabbit hole is truly hellish!

https://goodmenproject.com/featured-...inkedin-dread/

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by GTO

Are you spending more time on LinkedIn? What do you use it for? Has it helped you professionally? Has the feed become more interesting?

I wish I was actually spending more time on LinkedIn for the sake of our small start-up, but in reality I spend a lot more time on Team-BHP than on LinkedIn.

Jokes apart, I am not a big fan of LinkedIn, for all the same reasons that many others have posted above. Given a choice, I would avoid spending time on LinkedIn.

However, as an entrepreneur and a start-up founder, LinkedIn has become a necessary evil. I can not afford not to be active there. Lot of business connections happen through LinkedIn. When I meet people at business meetings or conferences, also the potential clients, the first think they do is to check my LinkedIn profile and share their LinkedIn profile and immediately send a connection request. LinkedIn profile has become the new business card.

People regularly check our company LinkedIn page too and actually take that seriously. Thus, for simple business reasons, we have to keep the company page updated with frequent posts and news. We now have a team whose job is to manage our LinkedIn pages. As I said, it is a necessary evil for business reasons for a small company like us (and I am sure it is the same for a large company too).

Thus, regardless of my personal views and keeping those aside, as a professional and as a business owner, I have no option but to embrace LinkedIn.

And that is exactly how I use it - a professional marketing and networking tool - not for me as a person but for our small company.

[DigitalOne]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Why I do not log on to LinkedIn anymore:

Totally agree with the sentiment mentioned here. Early this year, I quit Twitter/X and somehow got sucked into LinkedIn. I never installed the app, but then it started showing up in the most visited sites when I opened the phone browser, making it easy to obsess over it every few hours.

8 years back on Independence day, I totally quit FB by deactivating the account. This independence day, I removed the LinkedIn link from the frequent sites, and have not accessed it in the last 10 days. Hope the Independence day luck runs on for LinkedIn too.

[voldemort]

I'm one of the rare breed of people in their 20s who don't use FB, Twitter/X, Threads, Instagram etc.

I get why Facebook and Twitter might be useful; atleast their initial versions of everybody posting updates about their own lives infrequently. As I understand FB has significantly deviated from this simple design. I wouldn't know because I don't use it.

As for actually connecting to people I truly care about, I prefer WhatsApp/direct phone calls.

I never understood why people use Instagram. Do a lot of people (non-influencers) take that many photos?

Things like Snapchat, TikTok — I just don't get it. I understand neither the content-creators, nor the consumers.

I don't really know what Threads is, so not commenting on that.

As for LinkedIn, I used to use it to keep tabs on people I know. However, the one invariant I maintained was that I should personally know everyone I'm connected to. It was somewhat useful initially.

But then eventually, there was a consistent barrage of self-promotional posts, virtue-signalling, wokeness etc., which feels toxic. I'd rather spend time on team-bhp.

LinkedIn provides no value to me. I removed the LinkedIn app from my phone over a year ago. Once in about 6 months or so I log in via a computer and casually glance through the updates, send connection requests to be people I have met since the last time I logged in, and then log out. 10 minutes maximum. And I predict I'll stop doing even that in a year or two (this is how I weaned off FB).

Having said all that, I believe there's space for a non-toxic simple social networking site for people who really know each other or those who have shared interests, provided they keep out the influencers and news outlets. Where a given person may have 1 or 2 updates a week. It'll be boring, but useful.

I don't know how the economics of such a service would work out. It would probably have to be self-hosted maybe (or maybe not) which itself could be a non-starter.

I think Mastodon is somewhat on the right track, but they still miss the mark.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

People regularly check our company LinkedIn page too and actually take that seriously.

A while back, I was part of a project that built a sentiment analysis tool for a PE firm; something they could use to get a quick sense of how the (potential target) company is doing, and being perceived. LinkedIn and Twitter were the main sources for this, and a significant no. of data points were developed off that analysis.

That said, LinkedIn has gone to the dogs. The amount of BS on it is just astounding.

BUT. It still holds a lot of value and relevance as it is THE marker of someone's professional life; esp for the first 10-15 years. Beyond that, your network speaks for you and no Resume or LinkedIn post can supersede that.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by voldemort

Having said all that, I believe there's space for a non-toxic simple social networking site for people who really know each other or those who have shared interests, provided they keep out the influencers and news outlets. Where a given person may have 1 or 2 updates a week. It'll be boring, but useful.

I don't know how the economics of such a service would work out. It would probably have to be self-hosted maybe (or maybe not) which itself could be a non-starter.

I think Mastodon is somewhat on the right track, but they still miss the mark.

Something like a Wikipedia for being socially connected online, professionally and otherwise. Actually, all we probably need is a Wikipedia page for each one of us lol!

I wonder what we would write on each of our pages.

[Raghu M]

LinkedIn is the unofficial version of Insta these days. Every post appears there with a message as either leadership or something related to the corporate world. Bits from Gangs of Wasseypur, Bahubali and jokes from actors movies etc. appear on my feed and the HR is tagged to such posts. It has become pure nonsense. Like someone rightly pointed out, it has gone to dogs. I mean what is there to learn from Bahubali for leadership? If there is any, every movie will have something or the other to show. How can that appear on LinkedIn? I barely use it these days, I saw a survey the other day where 90% respondents shared that LinkedIn has not helped them find a job or anything meaningful. I hope someone like Elon Musk buys it makes it fully paid!

[am1m]

Originally Posted by voldemort

I never understood why people use Instagram. Do a lot of people (non-influencers) take that many photos?

Things like Snapchat, TikTok — I just don't get it. I understand neither the content-creators, nor the consumers.

Long before the Internet itself, a theory called Transactional Analysis was very popular in psychology. Among other things one of the concepts was 'strokes', which was defined as a unit of recognition, could be positive or negative. The concept was that as connected human beings, we always sought positive strokes.

Strokes=Likes in social media. So whatever social media might be or has become, the fundamentals are in human psychology and which is why it will always be popular.

https://www.counselling-directory.or...ed-for-strokes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transactional_analysis

As far as the creators and the companies behind them go, the amount of data mined is HUGE. Even if you are one of the rare breed of people who is not on any social media, rest assured, the people you meet and interact with are. So somewhere, your profile is pegged. I've posted somewhere earlier on another thread, where a friend's phone picked up what we were talking about at the gym one evening, and I got an ad related to that the next morning, even though my phone was in the locker all the time.

And all that data put through the amazingly sophisticated algos these companies have developed, is very valuable to advertising. And it works.