Does anyone actually use this thing? Why does it feel like you’re sitting through a Saturday Night Live skit of an office meeting whenever you log on? What is this for??
Once upon a time, before It became a social media site, I knew a lot of people who used it for what it was intended. Not me, although I had an account.
@Cerridwyn sadly, this is true. I’ve had an account since 2009. I don’t spend much time there for the reasons you state. It has been useful for finding current contact info for former colleagues which has been helpful. I have also used it when getting ready to engage with a new potential client. I would create a dossier for each of the reps and the company.
I’ve also connected people to potential jobs and I have gotten one consulting gig competely through LinkedIn from someone who just reached out for help cold.
If you focus on using it for its original intended purpose and don’t care about followers or clicks, I think it can be useful. They can have the rest of it.
It’s for checking where your previous coworkers are currently employed or not. And for middle managers to suck up to their bosses by cheer-leading for the company.
Yes LinkedIn used to be great because of its simplicity and non-Facebook-ness. It did allow me to make contact with old co-workers and students I taught in classes including internationally. I suppose it still does that.
The thing about connections and references would be useful if someone were to be looking for future employment (or employees) and that was a main point of its original purpose.
They had already “monetized” it by offering a Premium level where you could see more information and see who was looking at your page. Again might be worth it for people on a job search or employees search. It was originally “networking” in the professional sense not the look how cool my photo is sense.
I’m still on it but don’t go to the site very much, and turned off most of the automated emails and notifications it’s prone to pushing now.
@pmarin Don’t want to be totally negative because I think it still fulfills its original purpose. For example even if we maintain email addresses of people, over time their provider changes, or it was frequently an employer email address and those go away when you change jobs or retire. (Mine went away literally the afternoon I retired, though I was prepared for that). So LinkedIn was/is a good way of maintaining contact.
But once my 80 year old mother joined it because her other senior friends signed her up for it, I realized it was no longer just what it was originally intended to be. Good luck explaining “not clear on the concept” to an old lady.
they have decent training available and it’s one of the benefits of working for my current org (i.e., the agency pays for it)
there’s a fair amount of news in my particular industry (GIS, with a side of general tech)
professional networking
keeping up with colleagues who aren’t on FB (or whom I don’t want to connect with on FB, because I like to be free there)
it can be useful as a way to find out about potential hires and other dubious professional contacts
it’s a way of sidling up to and keeping up with folks above my paygrade or only tangentially within my sphere of influence (especially outside my agency), but whom I’ve had professional interaction with (typically in my technical support roles)
I’ve used to to gather company info when job-seeking
I found my current job through LinkedIn. I also recently found a tax strategist on it.
It is social media for professionals still. It’s definitely a different vibe from other platforms. But I do like to use it to look for job postings and stay connected with people in my industry.
I use it as an information source. I follow topics of interest which is useful and a few people which is also useful (for example one of my oncologists as he is always posting updated information about one of my cancers). I get job opening notifications. I don’t post.
Once upon a time, before It became a social media site, I knew a lot of people who used it for what it was intended. Not me, although I had an account.
Then it became facebook lite and went to hell
@Cerridwyn sadly, this is true. I’ve had an account since 2009. I don’t spend much time there for the reasons you state. It has been useful for finding current contact info for former colleagues which has been helpful. I have also used it when getting ready to engage with a new potential client. I would create a dossier for each of the reps and the company.
I’ve also connected people to potential jobs and I have gotten one consulting gig competely through LinkedIn from someone who just reached out for help cold.
If you focus on using it for its original intended purpose and don’t care about followers or clicks, I think it can be useful. They can have the rest of it.
It’s for checking where your previous coworkers are currently employed or not. And for middle managers to suck up to their bosses by cheer-leading for the company.
@walarney it makes sense now
Look at who owns it now. This should explain a great deal.
@werehatrack somebody Evil?
@pmarin @werehatrack all websites are evil at this point. (Except this one, obv)
@pmarin M$
Yes LinkedIn used to be great because of its simplicity and non-Facebook-ness. It did allow me to make contact with old co-workers and students I taught in classes including internationally. I suppose it still does that.
The thing about connections and references would be useful if someone were to be looking for future employment (or employees) and that was a main point of its original purpose.
They had already “monetized” it by offering a Premium level where you could see more information and see who was looking at your page. Again might be worth it for people on a job search or employees search. It was originally “networking” in the professional sense not the look how cool my photo is sense.
I’m still on it but don’t go to the site very much, and turned off most of the automated emails and notifications it’s prone to pushing now.
@pmarin Don’t want to be totally negative because I think it still fulfills its original purpose. For example even if we maintain email addresses of people, over time their provider changes, or it was frequently an employer email address and those go away when you change jobs or retire. (Mine went away literally the afternoon I retired, though I was prepared for that). So LinkedIn was/is a good way of maintaining contact.
But once my 80 year old mother joined it because her other senior friends signed her up for it, I realized it was no longer just what it was originally intended to be. Good luck explaining “not clear on the concept” to an old lady.
I find it useful all kinds of ways:
@joelmw i can take linkedin classes through my librarym i used to do Gale courses through the library but they awitched to LI
@joelmw yep, the training. I believe they acquired lynda.com years ago but they add a lot more. My company springs for it too.
I found my current job through LinkedIn. I also recently found a tax strategist on it.
It is social media for professionals still. It’s definitely a different vibe from other platforms. But I do like to use it to look for job postings and stay connected with people in my industry.
I use it as an information source. I follow topics of interest which is useful and a few people which is also useful (for example one of my oncologists as he is always posting updated information about one of my cancers). I get job opening notifications. I don’t post.