We absolutely need a better platform for professional networking. A platform that's not filled with people who dislocate their shoulders trying to pat themselves on the back for some "inspirational" social media babble about the last time they managed to send an email.
However, I don't think it's a consequence of the platform, but of work culture. People are like that because it works, and it works because we're deep, deep into a headlong rush toward annihilation in the name of profit.
The people profiting from destroying every public good - peace, pollution-free air and water and soil, housing, healthcare, etc etc - own basically everything. Our politicians, our media, our military. It's been this way for a long time.
Speaking up against this isn't what most people want to hear. It's uncomfortable - and a distraction from short-term survival. There are no easy answers. It's not a message you'll ever hear amplified on corporate media, and it doesn't fit well into a soundbite or tweet.
There's an ocean of subtle and not-so-subtle messaging across every type of media telling you not to look behind the curtain. There are very real consequences for doing so in a way that gets peoples attention.
LinkedIn rewards superficiality over substance because our society does, workplace culture especially so. Professional posturing is a byproduct of a system that commodifies everything: even authenticity, even revolution.
Essentially, our 'hearts and minds' have been hacked, in every possible way.
That said, if you have any good ideas on how a different platform could change that I'd love to hear them.