Is LinkedIn Just Instagram in a Powersuit?
The world is on fire, companies are making record-level profits, firing employees over wine glasses while allegedly confusing their own corporate cards over expenses, CEO’s out here with the fashion sense of a contestant from “Love Island”, some of your faves can’t stop selling us E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G, even though NONE OF US CAN AFFORD IT, yet you think we care about your post about some random “win” you had at your job?
Read the room, sweetie!
It’s giving performative… and you know I am not lying.
Now let me be clear I have been one of those people, so I know the importance of a social media image. I am not going to sit here and lie like I was not posting each and every creative campaign my team cranked out. It made me look like a badass and also raised my stock for other companies to see what an asset I could be. Corporate, Joi’ looked like a superstar on Linkedin. And let’s be clear, this platform in particular is where the singularly focused, shine. If you are trying to leverage the site to show how you ARE making moves up the corporate ladder, then go for what you know. However…
It is NOT a place for real opinions.
It is NOT a place to be too renegade.
It is NOT a place to call out corporate BS.
Unless you are independently wealthy and can afford to tell the truth, or you’re delusional like me, and think you can be your authentic self while not being ostracized, then may the odds be ever in your favor!
I think LinkedIn serves a purpose, it is an amazing Rolodex to find creatives and like-minded professionals, but in 2024, in analyzing the benefit of this platform, does it serve as a real connector, or has it just become another way for people to validate their existence? IE, is it Instagram of the corporate world?
This week, we have a new hottie coming into the Love Island House!
The only thing that needs a Year of Efficiency” is this look. Like, seriously, who is styling him?!
Personally, I’ve seen far too many posts beginning with, “I know this isn’t the place to say this, but…” and then proceed to bring up whatever societal issue is on their heart. To that, I wonder, why anyone has to mention a caveat, “Why can’t LinkedIn be used to push for accountability on the very site where these companies and their key stakeholders are front and center.” If anything, that should indeed be the place where we hold SLTs accountable. Alas, that doesn’t work when you are trying to keep your bills paid and a roof over your head, but something has to give.
LinkedIn’s platform has grown significantly over the last few years, with approximately 900 million users, and the personal content is dripping over onto the platform, but is that good? Do I really need another influencer bleating about their paid trip to test the new “fill in the blanks?” Or do we need a platform where honest discourse about corporate business practices is front and center? I would side with the latter, but the more I come to this space, I am perplexed by its true benefit. Once upon a time, I actually secured leads to be hired, now, I see uber-talented professionals confessing about ghost-job listings, seeing their work stolen at an all-time high, and encasing their profile pictures in “desperate” banners.
Granted there are those rare moments of glory like a racist getting outed on the platform for their weekend meltdown, but I mean that is NOT what we are supposed to be here for. Look, when it comes down to it:
Facebook is… enough said.
IG has turned JC Penny’s.
Mojojojo is currently running Twitter.
TikTok won’t rest until they sell out of the world’s supply of steppers.
I mean Linkedin was the last bulwark for common sense, I thought.
There’s No Need to Panic!
2023: 262,682 tech workers lost their jobs, which was more than double the 164,969 layoffs in 2022. Some of the companies that laid off the most employees in 2023 include Amazon, Meta, Google, and Microsoft.
I don’t know what the end of the year will bring, but if you too find yourself questioning the pros and cons of this site, trust you are not the only one. I just want to go back to a time when we all spoke on making an actual impact in our respective industries, and not exacerbating the one time you gave a coworker the last La Croix by turning it into the “I Have A Dream Speech.”
Oh, to be 2014, again.
