On that note, I deleted my Linkedin account a few days ago. When 10 years ago, I received an invitation to join Linkedin from a colleague, my thinking was “We are already colleagues, why the hell do you want me to join this bloody thing and “connect with you”?”
Years later, when I started my own business, I thought “Well, this may be a very easy way to find prospects and partners.” It actually worked to some extent, but compared to the massive effort involved in getting your new and artificial connections excited, the results are not worth it, compared to good old networking methods.
Now the bloody thing is downright manipulative and appeals to our fears not to miss out and our vanity. “Look, your connection is in the news!” Damn, I also want more followers. Let me write some article on Linkedin and see how many likes I get. Wow, this guy has over 500 connections. I only have 120. Let us try to invite some strangers so I look like a real connected guy. “You are now connected to John Doe. Start a conversation!” Yeah, let us waste some time chatting some unknown guy who doesn’t give a damn about me.
Another example. You want to reach out to someone you are really keen to connect with. “Your connection’s connection is connected to John Doe. Ask for an introduction.” Yeah, let us try to bother a guy I don’t know and ask him to introduce me to a guy he doesn’t really know.
Massive waste of time and energy, no real purpose.
Important note: Until I became more aware of humane tech principles, I also fell for this shit. Once I was looking for staff and I asked each candidate for a link to their Linkedin profile. I wanted to have a glimpse on how they presented themselves and what kind of connections they had (Ok, it was for a sales job). Shame on me.