Ode to LinkedIn
I used to get upset when people described LinkedIn as a social network, because I associate that term with attention bait and doomscrolling. Now I realize how much I need a professionally focused space to express myself and learn from others.
I'm very grateful that LinkedIn exists in these times of crazy fast change and uncertainty. It's the first and often only place I go to for sharing stuff that's on my mind as I navigate the AI revolution, and for hearing and learning from others. I don't get that value from Facebook or Instagram, and while X is amazing for real-time updates, it's so noisy and plagued by the darkest side of the Internet.
Last Friday I was targeted by an extremely sophisticated scam involving a robocall, then a human call, a support ticket being logged, and a recovery text message. I almost fell for it.
Posting the entire story on LinkedIn made a huge difference for me. There was so much compassion and support, and so many stories from people who'd faced similarly sophisticated scams. I felt like I wasn't going at it alone, and I learned a lot from people's comments.
Yes there's too much AI slop on LinkedIn (and everywhere, and everyone please try to just write it yourselves, it's the cool thing these days), and yes there's way too much engagement bait and self-aggrandizing crap (I guess follower and reaction count matters too much), but at the same time it's the place people show up as themselves the most, with curiosity and a genuine intention to solve real hard problems they're facing today.
I think that's what LinkedIn is for: it's for us all together to learn from each other in a crazy fast-evolving world, and put behind any barriers around who works for what company and so on. At the end of the day we're all human beings trying to thrive in life and at work and there's no better way to do this than by building a strong community.
AI is changing the world faster than anyone can adapt to, and now more than ever I need a community to go through this madness with. When the going gets rough and confusing, going at it shoulder to shoulder with everyone else who's just as confused as me makes it a ton more manageable, and hey, at times even fun.
Thank you LinkedIn, and let's all write more ourselves, and try to keep the feed clean with less slop (AI or human produced).