To think that LinkedIn is becoming a boast fest

[Chachachachachachachachanges]

I’ll caveat that it’s possibly the industry I’m in but I’m sick to death of seeing posts along the lines of

“Yesterday I was didn’t have a home to call my own, without a penny to my name. This morning I set up x company, changed up my morning routine and started getting up basically before I go to sleep and running six marathons before breakfast.
Now here’s me pictured next to a Ferrari”

(Translation - yesterday I lived with my mum. I still do. I read some book about morning routines and have gone up and stood next to a random card I’ve flogged some stuff on eBay).

Linkedin is so cringey.

If you're not permanently 'super excited' then you don't really belong.

Handy for keeping in touch with people and getting a sense of what's going on though.

It’s awful and it’s sort of leaking inot real interactions. I had a meeting with someone yesterday who wanted to keep telling me how they “scaled to six figures”. I was like “yeah that’s lovely - but can we get on with the task at hand please.

Obviously depends on the industry - there is nothing like that on mine!

Ask ex colleague is on there, I suspect he's retired now because he's so negative on our old employer's posts. It makes me smile to see a different view because linked in is just constantly the same otherwise.

Mine is just full of stuff about writing business cases, dealing with difficult issues, welcoming change, the future of data analytics etc. Nothing as exciting as boasting and Ferraris!

Then change who you’re following? I follow leaders in the ED&I space. Influencers promoting mental health/ wellness. Thought leaders. Companies that put out interesting studies.
My feed is full of interesting people, content and updates.

@wellthatsunusual ah see that’s what mine used to be like. A place where people modestly showed their work wins, shared ideas etc.

Now it’s all strange pudding contests.

Yanbu plenty of cringe on LinkedIn (I don’t even follow those type of people but it’s easy to see their posts come up)

Strange pudding contests

Brilliant. Cringey but brilliant. I'm obviously not cut out for full on self promotion because I'd turn myself inside out with embarrassment!

Sounds like you are following MLMs not professionals in your industry? Perhaps re-assess your connections and who you follow as I find it really useful (in fintech).

In my industry it's used a lot for recruitment and so therefore if you have a profile it has to be a bit "boasty" - it's an online CV, essentially. I have to say, though, I've never seen posts like that. Sounds less boasty and more delusional

The trite bollocks some people post on LinkedIn makes me feel very embarrassed for them. I know it is supposed to be a useful tool but by god, it’s awful.

Mines an absolute cringe fest too. I tend not to engage anymore.
There’s been a real move to people using it as though it was Facebook and the messages that can convey in a professional world is terrible. Mine is far too full of people who like the sound of their own voice too much.

Hahahaha I meant pissing contests but pudding ones sound far more interesting

@TillyTopper I work in advertising/marketing. But it’s not necessarily direct connections. It’s the fact that those type of bullshit stories get a lot of engagement so end up on my feed anyway.

I remember maybe 6 or so years ago feeling unsure about posting about winning an award.
Now people feel no awkwardness about boasting about what they ate for lunch.

Who on earth are you lot connecting with on LinkedIn? 😳

Mines is nothing like that but I do carefully vet connections. I accidentally added someone who had worked in my industry but turned to to be promoting an MLM, they were gone in seconds.

There is a lot of oversharing about hospitalised children, deaths in the family etc in LinkedIn and how they have persevered on. Shared with a bunch of connections who don't even know them - unlike say facebook or instagram where presumably most friends/followers are people you actually know in person - and will be seen by thousands of others who are connected with someone who likes/comments etc. I find it very odd.

@asd99 that is spot on!
“I found this person on the street. They swore at me, but my arm and mugged me. But I could see a great sales person lurking underneath. So instead of calling the police... I called him into my office. Now he’s our CFO and doing great (apart from the biting).

Love a bit of LinkedIn not so stealth boasting and virtue sledgehammering.

‘I met a crack addict on the street who mugged me, but Im passionate about second chances so now he’s the MD of my business, which I started last Tuesday and has a turnover of £22m. #ImAmazing

I’m in marketing so have to be on there quite a bit.

I’m a solicitor and mine is full of graduates being “delighted to announce” that they’ve obtained a first class degree or accepted a paralegal position/training contract. Basically anything that really doesn’t warrant an ‘announcement’.

There's a Twitter account called 'the state of LinkedIn'. I think you might enjoy it OP

“Who on earth are you lot connecting with on LinkedIn?”
I’m not connected to any mlm, cringey types however that doesn’t stop me regularly seeing these posts with plenty of likes

Also even some people with more “normal” jobs are guilty of oversharing, and saying cringey things too 🤷‍♀️

Or at the moment it’s all about people being interrupted by their children