IS LINKEDIN WORTH YOUR TIME?

By definition LinkedIn is a professional network, meant to connect or link (see what they did there?) similar professionals who then share knowledge, insights and opportunities. It boasts over 300 million members, 187 million monthly unique visitors and an average daily use of 40% of their member base. An average CEO has 930 connections and LinkedIn promotes the accessibility this gives everyone who is NOT a CEO to reach out and connect. So, if you are one of the 300 million who have a LinkedIn account, what is your user experience like?

I am one of the 300 million, but I personally am not a daily user of LinkedIn. I don’t find it worthwhile and find it tedious whenever I log in.  I find my feed inundated with pointless updates of “inspirational” quotes, shameless self-promotion and pointless updates about one’s personal life. 

Case in point:

This is not Facebook, I don’t want to see your (not) funny memes, as hilarious as you may think you are… you’re not. So, is this what LinkedIn is like? I’m a shameless social media consumer, as are most people today (even more so my generation), but LinkedIn fails to make my daily rounds. I find my LinkedIn mostly full of things I would find on Facebook, but why is that? Did I connect with the wrong people, is the average user not social media savvy (79% of LinkedIn users are over 35) or do I just not GET it?

I don’t find myself checking my account until a coworker reminds me, or I have nothing better to do on a lunch break. I log on to check my message, in which I usually have a few, and my connection requests. We all chant the same mantra that you HAVE to have a LinkedIn if you’re a professional, but why? In my experience…

Have I been recruited for potential jobs? Absolutely.

Have I learned things about my industry? Sure.

Have I made worthwhile connections? I’m not sure.

My plea to LinkedIn is to please do something about your diminishing quality. At this point, LinkedIn is NOT worth your time unless you are a job seeker. Create your profile, make a few connections and jump ship until you get a notification unless you have a mass amount of time to weed through the junk. LinkedIn: You’re losing valuable users by allowing people to post whatever they want, most having nothing to do with business and is irrelevant to the platform. Everyone is an “expert,” everyone has an over-inflated skill set and endorsements, so where’s the VALUE?  Your platform is dying, crushed under an insurmountable amount of Comic Sans, “Like if you think this baby deserves life” posts and spam. I’ll leave you with this nugget, fresh from my 5 second scan of my news feed.