LinkedIn is fine provided you follow some very simple rules. 1) never use the social features like the timeline. Don’t post things, don’t comment on things. It

LinkedIn is fine provided you follow some very simple rules. 1) never use the social features like the timeline. Don’t post things, don’t comment on things. It’s just a bad Facebook for people with ties trying to become workfluencers. People who think that by promoting their employers blog post they’ll rise in the ranks (and they probably will but I don’t want any part of that charade). 2) Only only ever connect with people you work or worked with. Never recruiters. Recruiters want to build a huge network of random people, and it ruins the fundamental idea where I can see if I actually have someone with a work relationship at a company. 3) Don’t reply to messages from people not in your network. Either connect with them (if not recruiters) or ignore. Do not say “no thanks” or “not interested”. 4) Disable all mail notification. You likely get enough email. Using it like this, I find it’s a pretty simple way to keep track of where my past colleagues are, without being spammed by recruiters or having to wade through message spam in LinkedIn. I check in a few times per year to see what old friends are up to.