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We absolutely need a better platform for professional networking. A platform that's not filled with people who dislocate their shoulders trying to pat themselve

by rnts08 2y ago

We absolutely need a better platform for professional networking. A platform that's not filled with people who dislocate their shoulders trying to pat themselves on the back for some "inspirational" social media babble about the last time they managed to send an email.

mandmandam 2y ago
God it really is heinous. However, I don't think it's a consequence of the platform, but of work culture. People are like that because it works, and it works because we're deep, deep into a headlong rush toward annihilation in the name of profit. The people profiting from destroying every public good - peace, pollution-free air and water and soil, housing, healthcare, etc etc - own basically everything. Our politicians, our media, our military. It's been this way for a long time. Speaking up against this isn't what most people want to hear. It's uncomfortable - and a distraction from short-term survival. There are no easy answers. It's not a message you'll ever hear amplified on corporate media, and it doesn't fit well into a soundbite or tweet. There's an ocean of subtle and not-so-subtle messaging across every type of media telling you not to look behind the curtain. There are very real consequences for doing so in a way that gets peoples attention. LinkedIn rewards superficiality over substance because our society does, workplace culture especially so. Professional posturing is a byproduct of a system that commodifies everything: even authenticity, even revolution. Essentially, our 'hearts and minds' have been hacked, in every possible way. That said, if you have any good ideas on how a different platform could change that I'd love to hear them.
- mondrian 2y ago
  Relatively speaking, Instagram and Twitter are far more interesting than LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a special kind of horrible.
  - xeyownt 2y ago
    Twitter is the most terrible platform ever. And it got only worse after Mr. X bought it.
  - mandmandam 2y ago
    Absolutely, which is saying a lot given Twitter's current state. But most employers won't be looking you up on Instagram or Twitter, unless you're in the type of work where they need to make sure your socials are sufficiently 'clean'.
- konschubert 2y ago
  > deep into a headlong rush toward annihilation in the name of profit. Poverty, illness and starvation are the default state of mankind and the fact that almost nobody lives in deep poverty any more is because people get up in the morning and work hard to produce value.
  - mandmandam 2y ago
    > Poverty, illness and starvation are the default state of mankind A most wretched lie. Systems of entrenched inequality and widespread poverty mostly emerged after agriculture and centralized state systems, not during early human history. That lie serves to shift the blame for people's struggles away from oligarchs and owners and onto their victims. Do you own a company perchance? ... What do your down-stream labourers earn per hour, compared to you? ... Do you think billionaire CEOs and trust-fund nepo babies work harder than people in sweat shops? In mines? Nurses? Poverty, illness, and starvation are not inherent states. They are outcomes of structural and economic choices. > the fact that almost nobody lives in deep poverty any more is because people get up in the morning and work hard to produce value. Another lie, long debunked, labelled "The Protestant Work Ethic Myth". It can be disproved with Nobel economist research [0], World Bank reports [1], or a simple graph [2], not to mention the first few pages of 'Capital'. Historical evidence and economic research overwhelmingly show that poverty, illness, and starvation are due to structural forces and political choices, and that poverty reduction comes from systemic changes far more than from individual work ethic. To say otherwise is to blame the victims of terrible crimes of exploitation, while absolving the perpetrators, despite mountains of evidence. It's fine and good to work, yes. But we have green power, machines, 120 IQ AI, instant global communication... A world where everyone works 20 hours a week with no reduction in Quality of Life for 99% of us is entirely possible, right now; but the current owners of the world would rather see us all burn than move toward it. 0 - https://www.supersummary.com/the-great-escape/summary/ https://www.supersummary.com/the-great-escape/summary/ 1 - https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview 2 - https://cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/23410.jpeg https://cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/23410.jpeg
    - konschubert 2y ago
- BlueTemplar 2y ago
  It wouldn't, it will get enshittified too (see GP's issues with GitHub too), you have to go look beyound platforms. (Well, I guess Hacker News remains an exception for now, due to a very specific model and circumstances I guess ?)
lvncelot 2y ago
I won't disagree about the state of LinkedIn, but doesn't the content just come with the territory? In my experience, people who "network" for networking's sake the most are exactly the type of people who self-congratulate and humble brag, so you're bound to get exactly this type of content on a platform that's entirely networking-focused.
- bee_rider 2y ago
  It is the result of most of the content on the site being posted by people who’d use LinkedIn while they weren’t, like, actively looking for a job.
- bitcharmer 2y ago
  But LinkedIn wasn't like that 10 years ago. It was what it was meant to be. To me it feels like TikTok culture infesting all types of social media. At this point LI is beyond saving but a serious competitor would have to be heavily moderated to stay clean which we all know won't happen.
  - AmericanChopper 2y ago
    I absolutely cannot understand this perspective. I open LinkedIn to add somebody to my network, contact somebody, or look for a job/hire somebody, and for those things it’s really good. I don’t make any LinkedIn content, I don’t consume any of it, I don't struggle to ignore it entirely, and I don’t miss out on anything by doing so. Where exactly does it need to improve?
    - giamma 2y ago
      Same as you, but I cannot find a good configuration for the linkedin App to prevent it from sending me too many notifications. I get 5+ notifications per day related to "this message is trending...", "your contact posted this...", "you are invited to do that...." and buried between them, from time to time, contact invitations that are worth considering.
ulfw 2y ago
We never 'needed' a damn feed on Linkedin in the first place I get updates from daughters fights with cancer of people I don't know. I don't need to see this on a 'professional' network. Not sure why people post such intimate private things.
- janalsncm 2y ago
  You’re being downvoted but you’re right. The feed is really just a vehicle to deliver ads. The content I see there is almost entirely garbage. I only use my profile and the ability to DM with recruiters and maybe the jobs board.
- sulandor 2y ago
  some ppl distinguish between professional and personal lives, most don't
janalsncm 2y ago
The issue isn’t just LinkedIn, it happens on all social networks I’m aware of. Take your account down for vague “violations” and make it nearly impossible to speak with anyone with common sense. Franz Kafka would be proud.
bigfatkitten 2y ago
I use LinkedIn as a contact list and as a way to find jobs, but I cannot stand the 'content'. I unfollow everyone I'm connected with just so I don't have to see any of it when I have the misfortune of having to log in.
- mrweasel 2y ago
  LinkedIn starts to feel a little like Facebook years back. If you don't "engage" with the platform it will start throwing random posts at you. Personally I think the shit posting started because people where not getting any reaction of Facebook anymore, after it turned into an algorithm driven ad pumping engine from hell. People want their posts read by other humans, and LinkedIn is the last place where this is actually happening. It's just that some people, especially those in marketing, online retail, management and HR absolutely suck at communication. LinkedIn is great as a contact list and for job hunting, if you're a technical person. The same shit posting marketing people can't even sell themselves. If you have two people posting that they are looking for a job, and one it technical and the other is marketing or HR related, you'll see a clear different. The technical person can have multiple interviews lines up in hours, the marketing person will get comments like "Repost", "Someone has to know someone" or "Hire X, their great", but no one actually have a job.
- DebtDeflation 2y ago
  Same. I treat LI as a host for my CV and as a job board. Zero interest in it as a content publishing platform or social networking platform.
unixhero 2y ago
LinkedIn is awful

by rnts08 2y ago

mandmandam 2y ago

God it really is heinous. However, I don't think it's a consequence of the platform, but of work culture. People are like that because it works, and it works because we're deep, deep into a headlong rush toward annihilation in the name of profit. The people profiting from destroying every public good - peace, pollution-free air and water and soil, housing, healthcare, etc etc - own basically everything. Our politicians, our media, our military. It's been this way for a long time. Speaking up against this isn't what most people want to hear. It's uncomfortable - and a distraction from short-term survival. There are no easy answers. It's not a message you'll ever hear amplified on corporate media, and it doesn't fit well into a soundbite or tweet. There's an ocean of subtle and not-so-subtle messaging across every type of media telling you not to look behind the curtain. There are very real consequences for doing so in a way that gets peoples attention. LinkedIn rewards superficiality over substance because our society does, workplace culture especially so. Professional posturing is a byproduct of a system that commodifies everything: even authenticity, even revolution. Essentially, our 'hearts and minds' have been hacked, in every possible way. That said, if you have any good ideas on how a different platform could change that I'd love to hear them.

mondrian 2y ago
Relatively speaking, Instagram and Twitter are far more interesting than LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a special kind of horrible.
- xeyownt 2y ago
  Twitter is the most terrible platform ever. And it got only worse after Mr. X bought it.
- mandmandam 2y ago
  Absolutely, which is saying a lot given Twitter's current state. But most employers won't be looking you up on Instagram or Twitter, unless you're in the type of work where they need to make sure your socials are sufficiently 'clean'.
konschubert 2y ago
> deep into a headlong rush toward annihilation in the name of profit. Poverty, illness and starvation are the default state of mankind and the fact that almost nobody lives in deep poverty any more is because people get up in the morning and work hard to produce value.
- mandmandam 2y ago
  > Poverty, illness and starvation are the default state of mankind A most wretched lie. Systems of entrenched inequality and widespread poverty mostly emerged after agriculture and centralized state systems, not during early human history. That lie serves to shift the blame for people's struggles away from oligarchs and owners and onto their victims. Do you own a company perchance? ... What do your down-stream labourers earn per hour, compared to you? ... Do you think billionaire CEOs and trust-fund nepo babies work harder than people in sweat shops? In mines? Nurses? Poverty, illness, and starvation are not inherent states. They are outcomes of structural and economic choices. > the fact that almost nobody lives in deep poverty any more is because people get up in the morning and work hard to produce value. Another lie, long debunked, labelled "The Protestant Work Ethic Myth". It can be disproved with Nobel economist research [0], World Bank reports [1], or a simple graph [2], not to mention the first few pages of 'Capital'. Historical evidence and economic research overwhelmingly show that poverty, illness, and starvation are due to structural forces and political choices, and that poverty reduction comes from systemic changes far more than from individual work ethic. To say otherwise is to blame the victims of terrible crimes of exploitation, while absolving the perpetrators, despite mountains of evidence. It's fine and good to work, yes. But we have green power, machines, 120 IQ AI, instant global communication... A world where everyone works 20 hours a week with no reduction in Quality of Life for 99% of us is entirely possible, right now; but the current owners of the world would rather see us all burn than move toward it. 0 - https://www.supersummary.com/the-great-escape/summary/ https://www.supersummary.com/the-great-escape/summary/ 1 - https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview 2 - https://cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/23410.jpeg https://cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/23410.jpeg
  - konschubert 2y ago
BlueTemplar 2y ago
It wouldn't, it will get enshittified too (see GP's issues with GitHub too), you have to go look beyound platforms. (Well, I guess Hacker News remains an exception for now, due to a very specific model and circumstances I guess ?)

lvncelot 2y ago

I won't disagree about the state of LinkedIn, but doesn't the content just come with the territory? In my experience, people who "network" for networking's sake the most are exactly the type of people who self-congratulate and humble brag, so you're bound to get exactly this type of content on a platform that's entirely networking-focused.

bee_rider 2y ago
It is the result of most of the content on the site being posted by people who’d use LinkedIn while they weren’t, like, actively looking for a job.
bitcharmer 2y ago
But LinkedIn wasn't like that 10 years ago. It was what it was meant to be. To me it feels like TikTok culture infesting all types of social media. At this point LI is beyond saving but a serious competitor would have to be heavily moderated to stay clean which we all know won't happen.
- AmericanChopper 2y ago
  I absolutely cannot understand this perspective. I open LinkedIn to add somebody to my network, contact somebody, or look for a job/hire somebody, and for those things it’s really good. I don’t make any LinkedIn content, I don’t consume any of it, I don't struggle to ignore it entirely, and I don’t miss out on anything by doing so. Where exactly does it need to improve?
  - giamma 2y ago
    Same as you, but I cannot find a good configuration for the linkedin App to prevent it from sending me too many notifications. I get 5+ notifications per day related to "this message is trending...", "your contact posted this...", "you are invited to do that...." and buried between them, from time to time, contact invitations that are worth considering.

ulfw 2y ago

We never 'needed' a damn feed on Linkedin in the first place I get updates from daughters fights with cancer of people I don't know. I don't need to see this on a 'professional' network. Not sure why people post such intimate private things.

janalsncm 2y ago
You’re being downvoted but you’re right. The feed is really just a vehicle to deliver ads. The content I see there is almost entirely garbage. I only use my profile and the ability to DM with recruiters and maybe the jobs board.
sulandor 2y ago
some ppl distinguish between professional and personal lives, most don't

janalsncm 2y ago

The issue isn’t just LinkedIn, it happens on all social networks I’m aware of. Take your account down for vague “violations” and make it nearly impossible to speak with anyone with common sense. Franz Kafka would be proud.

bigfatkitten 2y ago

I use LinkedIn as a contact list and as a way to find jobs, but I cannot stand the 'content'. I unfollow everyone I'm connected with just so I don't have to see any of it when I have the misfortune of having to log in.

mrweasel 2y ago
LinkedIn starts to feel a little like Facebook years back. If you don't "engage" with the platform it will start throwing random posts at you. Personally I think the shit posting started because people where not getting any reaction of Facebook anymore, after it turned into an algorithm driven ad pumping engine from hell. People want their posts read by other humans, and LinkedIn is the last place where this is actually happening. It's just that some people, especially those in marketing, online retail, management and HR absolutely suck at communication. LinkedIn is great as a contact list and for job hunting, if you're a technical person. The same shit posting marketing people can't even sell themselves. If you have two people posting that they are looking for a job, and one it technical and the other is marketing or HR related, you'll see a clear different. The technical person can have multiple interviews lines up in hours, the marketing person will get comments like "Repost", "Someone has to know someone" or "Hire X, their great", but no one actually have a job.
DebtDeflation 2y ago
Same. I treat LI as a host for my CV and as a job board. Zero interest in it as a content publishing platform or social networking platform.

unixhero 2y ago

LinkedIn is awful