I was in product at LinkedIn, and I thought this was spot on. LinkedIn is a two-sided platform. Increasingly the revenue model undermines user engagement. To some extent, one side no longer builds the other, one subtracts from the other. LinkedIn is a platform for spam more than it is a platform for content.
LinkedIn Problems Run Deeper Than Valuation
41–50 of 98 posts
Re: LinkedIn Problems Run Deeper Than Valuation
#42Personally, I've used LinkedIn for recruiting tech talent, being recruited and most recently, doing biz dev (aka sales). Stray observations: 1. LinkedIn has too many products like sales navigator that attempt to force you through a specific workflow. While it can work, it feels a lot like a misguided tracking system. 2. LinkedIn is most useful as an online resume. Whenever I am meeting someone new or want a refresher…
LinkedIn has been focusing on too many far-flung 'features' without a plan for tying them together into a seamless experience. The current cluttered site is the outcome of such disjointed thinking. They want people to come to the site and 'engage,' but then they also encourage alot of low-quality content on the site, along with sprinkles of irrelevant ads on top.
At the end of the day, the CEO is responsible for this mess. He's never at a loss for encouraging buzzwords, but maybe it's time for a change and someone with new vision.
Re: LinkedIn Problems Run Deeper Than Valuation
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
As for point 6: I only connect with people I know. Every once in a while I get a connection request from some random person , but I always say no if I don't know them (even if we are in the same industry). I think the whole value of connections is diluted otherwise. A connection doesn't mean anything. So that's what I see as the disadvantage of adding as many contacts as possible.
I agree with you in principle and in the past only accepted connection requests from people I know as well. However, I think LinkedIn's promise as professional social network has really diminished over the years and mostly functions as nothing more than a job board at this point. I probably have about 100 recruiters I have never met in person in my network. As a contract dev updating my profile serves as a way to pus…
It's your choice to add 100 random recruiters to your network. But then, don't complain that you are being spammed by recruiters.
Re: LinkedIn Problems Run Deeper Than Valuation
#44Re: LinkedIn Problems Run Deeper Than Valuation
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is really fascinating to me. Since they are fraudulent anyway, why wouldn't they just say they are a recruiter from Google and get you to accept their connection request. Do they get more responses by claiming they are Nigerian Princesses?
No, they get less, but they are all qualified leads! There was a study (sorry I can't find the link) few months ago that discussed how spam looks bad intentionally. The idea is to weed out the smart or even average guy and just get the person that are a good target for this kind of con.
I think you're looking for "Why Do Nigerian Scammers Say They are From Nigeria?" by Microsoft Research.
http://research.microsoft.com/apps/pubs/default.aspx?id=1677...
Edit: Here's a particularly illuminating quote: "By sending an email that repels all but the most gullible the scammer gets the most promising marks to self-select, and tilts the true to false positive ratio in his favor."
Re: LinkedIn Problems Run Deeper Than Valuation
#46"LinkedIn is not, in fact, a business network — individuals on LinkedIn represent themselves, not their businesses." Accordingly, business attire is not, in fact, business attire, since people are dressed up as people not as businesses. What a waste of bandwidth...
Unless youre a fashion model?
Re: LinkedIn Problems Run Deeper Than Valuation
#47I click on LinkedIn every day. I like the news feed, my network provides useful stuff to read that I wouldn't find otherwise. I have connections that are more appropriate than on Facebook because our relationships are professional social not friend social. I don't want their baby pictures & holiday photos but I do want to hear about their business and comment on their business writing.
I've started a private slack group for my most active friends and business associates.
I like that better than linkedin.
Re: LinkedIn Problems Run Deeper Than Valuation
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
On the flip side, I get a ton of views of my profile. I indiscriminately accept recruiter requests, because it increases the spread of second and third-degree connections who'll see me in searches. I get two orders of magnitude more profile views than does my website, and I've turned off every email LinkedIn wants to send me. But, then, I'm a consultant, and having people find me is important. A lot of the messages I…
I agree. I'm also a consultant and my biggest disappointment is how LinkedIn is aligned almost exclusively with full-time employment. It's really a waste of my money as I get all my gigs via real-world connections from previous clients. I've been wishing for years that LinkedIn would add more consulting-specific features (this is the era of the "gig economy" after all, right?) but it doesn't happen. I only maintain a…
LinkedIn is actually going into precisely that sector, but it hasn't been publicized very well. See LinkedIn Profinder.
Re: LinkedIn Problems Run Deeper Than Valuation
#49Linkedin is a necessary evil. HR uses it to check out my references and that's about it. I visit it only when I need to find a job - to update the details on my last job. It's OK, just don't give them your phone number or (real) email address and you won't get hassled.
Re: LinkedIn Problems Run Deeper Than Valuation
#50I'm not so bearish on LinkedIn. It serves a few useful purposes: 1 - Before any meeting I look to see if there's something I share in common (person, interest, job, etc) with the other person. This was especially important when I was in Sales. 2 - When I was job hunting, I did a lot of "Look up the job, then see if I knew someone who knew someone at the company" that would've been impossible without it. 3 - I use it…
You are not so bearish as a user, are you planing to invest though even at current valuation?
Good question. If I actively invested in individual tech stocks, I probably would. But that's a big if. :-) For now I'm talking like a researcher rather than a trader.
My investing strategy has been to invest in large indexes with low expense ratios. For diversification against my human capital, I slightly lean against tech (S&P over Nasdaq) and for personal reasons I try to get some overseas exposure.