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I recommend we let LinkedIn implode under the weight of useless spam and indifferent ownership. Network directly with engineers where they spend time online. N

I recommend we let LinkedIn implode under the weight of useless spam and indifferent ownership. Network directly with engineers where they spend time online. Not recruiters in purpose built HR portals.

toma_caliente 4y ago
> Network directly with engineers where they spend time online Where would that be? I wouldn't recommend HN for networking purposes.
- mynegation 4y ago
  TeamBlind
  - Tehchops 4y ago
    Discourse on Blind makes HN look like the Athenian Assembly.
    - mynegation 4y ago
      Agreed. Still beats vapid LinkedIn feed.
      - Tehchops 4y ago
        Yes. I have to ruthlessly prune anyone who reposts chaff... which is sadly a non-trivial number of individuals.
- soSadm4n 4y ago
  Forums and chat rooms related to technologies you have experience with, want to learn. Slack and Discord have quite a few. Some like to complain about projects using Slack or Discord because they’re not open and can’t be archived publicly but really who is pulling value from old IRC logs today? Nostalgic lizard brain is all that is.
  - yellowapple 4y ago
    > Some like to complain about projects using Slack or Discord because they’re not open and can’t be archived publicly but really who is pulling value from old IRC logs today? When projects use Slack or Discord (or, for that matter, IRC) as their primary support channel it becomes a lot more painful to search online for solutions to problems.
    - soSadm4n 4y ago
Waterluvian 4y ago
This is probably a good case to remind people: You ("engineers who want to network") are a small fraction of the LinkedIn userbase. You cannot begin to accurately grok how the vast majority of users use and feel about LinkedIn. Your opinions are valid (and I share them fully). But be careful not to assume that the way _you_ interact with LinkedIn is universally shared.
- soSadm4n 4y ago
  Yes the language is intentionally constrained to “network with other engineers.” Thanks, I guess, for suggesting I keep a perspective I already had in mind (as evidenced by the constrained choice of words).
- Root_Denied 4y ago
  Who are the predominant users of LinkedIn then? Marketing mostly, or is it recruiters? Startup founders? How do you measure "activity" in this scenario - is it public postings or are we including the private messages that people send about jobs? I see a lot of useless posts end up on my feed - self congratulations and a lot of what equates to a press release for some product - but those have to target a user base of some kind that isn't there to just do that or it ends up being bots talking to bots (effectively), which is arguably bad for the company (e.g. bad for their valuation). Seems like the largest userbase are mid-career white collar workers, even if they don't make up the majority (or even a plurality) of the public posts/interactions happening. Similar to a gacha mobile game you need some minimum amount of userbase to create the environment where "whales" will be encouraged to engage with their money - in this case that's advertising revenue through sponsored posts and premium accounts.
  - rchaud 4y ago
    Every college student in the world has a LinkedIn account, whether they want one or not. That's a gigantic userbase of engaged users.
    - ghusbands 4y ago
grammarnazzzi 4y ago
I tend to agree with this. Spending time reporting issues and care-taking Microsoft is a waste of time. Don't bother doing things for Microsoft that Microsoft is perfectly capable of doing itself. Nothing is stopping Microsoft from solving problems like this themselves. They don't give a shit. If Microsoft had not acquired LinkedIn in 2016, it might still be led by people whose lives depended on the health and integrity of the site. Microsoft effectively poisoned Linkedin.

toma_caliente 4y ago

> Network directly with engineers where they spend time online Where would that be? I wouldn't recommend HN for networking purposes.

mynegation 4y ago
TeamBlind
- Tehchops 4y ago
  Discourse on Blind makes HN look like the Athenian Assembly.
  - mynegation 4y ago
    Agreed. Still beats vapid LinkedIn feed.
    - Tehchops 4y ago
      Yes. I have to ruthlessly prune anyone who reposts chaff... which is sadly a non-trivial number of individuals.
soSadm4n 4y ago
Forums and chat rooms related to technologies you have experience with, want to learn. Slack and Discord have quite a few. Some like to complain about projects using Slack or Discord because they’re not open and can’t be archived publicly but really who is pulling value from old IRC logs today? Nostalgic lizard brain is all that is.
- yellowapple 4y ago
  > Some like to complain about projects using Slack or Discord because they’re not open and can’t be archived publicly but really who is pulling value from old IRC logs today? When projects use Slack or Discord (or, for that matter, IRC) as their primary support channel it becomes a lot more painful to search online for solutions to problems.
  - soSadm4n 4y ago

Waterluvian 4y ago

This is probably a good case to remind people: You ("engineers who want to network") are a small fraction of the LinkedIn userbase. You cannot begin to accurately grok how the vast majority of users use and feel about LinkedIn. Your opinions are valid (and I share them fully). But be careful not to assume that the way _you_ interact with LinkedIn is universally shared.

soSadm4n 4y ago
Yes the language is intentionally constrained to “network with other engineers.” Thanks, I guess, for suggesting I keep a perspective I already had in mind (as evidenced by the constrained choice of words).
Root_Denied 4y ago
Who are the predominant users of LinkedIn then? Marketing mostly, or is it recruiters? Startup founders? How do you measure "activity" in this scenario - is it public postings or are we including the private messages that people send about jobs? I see a lot of useless posts end up on my feed - self congratulations and a lot of what equates to a press release for some product - but those have to target a user base of some kind that isn't there to just do that or it ends up being bots talking to bots (effectively), which is arguably bad for the company (e.g. bad for their valuation). Seems like the largest userbase are mid-career white collar workers, even if they don't make up the majority (or even a plurality) of the public posts/interactions happening. Similar to a gacha mobile game you need some minimum amount of userbase to create the environment where "whales" will be encouraged to engage with their money - in this case that's advertising revenue through sponsored posts and premium accounts.
- rchaud 4y ago
  Every college student in the world has a LinkedIn account, whether they want one or not. That's a gigantic userbase of engaged users.
  - ghusbands 4y ago

grammarnazzzi 4y ago

I tend to agree with this. Spending time reporting issues and care-taking Microsoft is a waste of time. Don't bother doing things for Microsoft that Microsoft is perfectly capable of doing itself. Nothing is stopping Microsoft from solving problems like this themselves. They don't give a shit. If Microsoft had not acquired LinkedIn in 2016, it might still be led by people whose lives depended on the health and integrity of the site. Microsoft effectively poisoned Linkedin.