LinkedIn: The Creepiest Social Network • Hacker News Board

Re: LinkedIn: The Creepiest Social Network

#21

Post by Mahn » Fri, Apr 03, 2015, 2:55 PM UTC

> I don’t currently and haven’t previously used the Imported Contact feature

But perhaps the others did? If 'Steve Jacobs' imported his contacts and you exchanged emails with him, LinkedIn apparently becomes aware of that relationship. In fact:

> Tami has a total of 5 connections, lives in Seattle, no public company or title listed, but we just happened to exchange a few emails a couple days prior regarding some questions I had about software her company sold.

Tami probably used the imported contacts feature here, and that's how LinkedIn would know.

Re: LinkedIn: The Creepiest Social Network

#22

Post by diminoten » Fri, Apr 03, 2015, 2:56 PM UTC

They're just suggesting people who've looked at your profile.

Your friends looked you up on LinkedIn.

Re: LinkedIn: The Creepiest Social Network

#23

Post by suttree » Fri, Apr 03, 2015, 3:00 PM UTC

rdlecler1 wrote: post #7

LinkedIn's social graph is much more valuable to the company, if the graph captures only real offline connections. A fully connected network graph offers no information insights. As time goes on and LinkedIn's social graph becomes polluted with spurious connections this will devalue the company. They need more quality control around this, not more sharsee.

Yes, this. You can see them struggling to fill out the graph with more data, in the belief that more is better, but it's certainly not richer.

Of course, I'm conflicted, building a cultural graph at www.somewhere.com rather than a social graph - I think those days are over.

Re: LinkedIn: The Creepiest Social Network

#24

Post by erkose » Fri, Apr 03, 2015, 3:02 PM UTC

fintler wrote: post #17

erkose wrote: post #11

What makes it creepy to me is that it is an Experian company.

What do you mean by "Experian company"? How is Experian related to this?

There is a sign outside their original office (not the new ones) on Matilda which states this.

Re: LinkedIn: The Creepiest Social Network

#25

Post by fps » Fri, Apr 03, 2015, 3:02 PM UTC

I had an interesting experience last year when I was working in a co-working space. I noticed that LinkedIn started suggesting to me the other people who were working in the same space. I had no verbal or virtual contact with these people, other than basic office small talk, but I never knew their name and they never knew mine. I mentioned it to them, and they all claimed they hadn't looked me up on LinkedIn, and that that was very weird. My assumption was that LinkedIn knew we were sharing the same internet connection and so they linked us together.

Re: LinkedIn: The Creepiest Social Network

#26

Post by fintler » Fri, Apr 03, 2015, 3:03 PM UTC

joering2 wrote: post #14

seren wrote: post #3

Creepy experience from this week. We have hired someone for daycare, I only have exchanged a few mail with that person. And now, her husband is in "people I know". I don't have shared my mail credentials with Linkedin, but I assume she has, and since we are both in her contact list, Linkedin assumed we know each other. It is somewhat correct but creepy nonetheless. I am not going to add him but from my point of view,…

> I don't have shared my mail credentials with Linkedin, but I assume she has Unfortunately that's not the case, and it's much darker than this. Recently I was asked by a friend to open a profile for a non-existing character from her book. I had to create an email address to open a linkedin. A new email address. Never used. After creating profile I emailed this new account from my own email. Week later my profile sho…

Wait, why can't the relationship just be:

you -> your friend -> a post your friend made with the name of the character -> the fictional character's profile

Getting Yahoo/email involved seems unnecessary to make the link.

Re: LinkedIn: The Creepiest Social Network

#27

Post by fintler » Fri, Apr 03, 2015, 3:07 PM UTC

erkose wrote: post #24

fintler wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you mean by "Experian company"? How is Experian related to this?

There is a sign outside their original office (not the new ones) on Matilda which states this.

Do you mean 755 N. Mathilda Ave?

It looks like LinkedIn is just moving into Experian's old office. I don't think the two companies are related.

Re: LinkedIn: The Creepiest Social Network

#28

Post by zatkin » Fri, Apr 03, 2015, 3:08 PM UTC

Other users who have imported their contact list is probably what causes them to show up on "People You May Know". I have noticed that people who I'm suggested to add are ones that I have only communicated with through email.

Re: LinkedIn: The Creepiest Social Network

#29

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Apr 03, 2015, 3:09 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: LinkedIn: The Creepiest Social Network

#30

Post by zatkin » Fri, Apr 03, 2015, 3:10 PM UTC

Mahn wrote: post #21

> I don’t currently and haven’t previously used the Imported Contact feature But perhaps the others did? If 'Steve Jacobs' imported his contacts and you exchanged emails with him, LinkedIn apparently becomes aware of that relationship. In fact: > Tami has a total of 5 connections, lives in Seattle, no public company or title listed, but we just happened to exchange a few emails a couple days prior regarding some ques…

The author argues (in the comments on the webpage) that Tami had a small time frame to import her contacts, but perhaps she just didn't show up in "People You May Know" yet.