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LinkedIn has one of the strongest cases.

• vinceguidry 12y ago
  I deleted my LinkedIn profile a long time ago and never looked back. I can't think of a better example of the meaningless that is only meaningful because other people say it is. I don't even think about LinkedIn unless it's mentioned here, that's how irrelevant to my life it is.
  • xnull2guest 12y ago
    > meaningless that is only meaningful because other people say it is Couldn't this also describe dollars (currency), bitcoins, pretty much any social media site, fashion and rules of hygiene (beyond what is merely sanitary)? Yes LinkedIn is only meaningful because other people say it is. But it's meaningful and there are industries where people simply can not get hired without a LinkedIn profile.
    • vinceguidry 12y ago
      Not at all. Things that have meaning have that meaning because other people actually want them. Money is a means of exchange, legitimized by government. It has a relevance that bitcoin does not have. Plenty of things have conditional relevance. Hygiene matters as much as your aspirations to social status. Social media matters only so much as you want to connect with others. Fashion is hard to describe, but I believe it's ultimately meaningful. If you completely ignore fashion it does affect you in certain ways. Note that I'm not just referring to clothes, technology is filled with fads as well. LinkedIn is bullshit. Bullshit you can and should ignore. I refuse to believe that there are entire industries that, collectively, firms in that industry won't even talk to you without such a profile. You can believe that, or you can believe that its your skills and ability to sell yourself that maintains your hireability.