The A-Z Guide to LinkedIn for Technology Businesses and Technology Professionals - The Letter D

Welcome to 'The A-Z Guide to LinkedIn for Technology Businesses and Technology Professionals'.?This A-Z series will be useful for all types of businesses, but business technologists are 'my people' and this series is written primarily for them.??

Why am I writing this series??There are two reasons.?

Firstly, I previously wrote a book entitled the A-Z of Organizational Digital Transformation having built a wonderful LinkedIn community of over 40,000?members, during the past 3+ years.?And time and time I have been asked, how did I grow that audience? ?

Secondly, I am a big believer in karma. Give out to the world expecting nothing in return and it will give back to you. LinkedIn has enabled me to create a technical writing and LinkedIn training business all from just posting content for fun. That is the universe giving back!

So Hi to the universe. It is now my turn to give back.

For the next few months I will share the secrets and tips and tricks I know about LinkedIn for FREE. ?

Today we begin with the letter 'D' and cover Dark Mode, Disconnect, Data Archive, Defamation Report, Dwell Time, Data Request Form Desktop LinkedIn and lots more.?If I miss an 'D' just let me know and I will add it.

So let's begin...our first 'D'.

Dark mode - Rather than use LinkedIn's default 'light' colour user interface, LinkedIn members can switch to dark mode. This changes your LinkedIn background almost black and the majority of your viewable text white.

Dark mode actually helps users avoid eye strain at night on your device screen or it can help those members who are light sensitive.?The idea behind Dark Mode is that?it reduces the light emitted by device screens while maintaining the minimum colour contrast ratios required for readability.

To switch to either dark or light mode on a mobile device:

1. Go to your settings by tapping your photo at the top right and tap?settings
2. Select?Account Preferences
3. Select?Dark mode.
4. Chose your personal preference:

• Device setting: Your default option enabled on your device.
• Dark mode
• Light mode

Disconnect - two meanings - remove a connection but also a reminder to take a break from all social media platforms if they are harming your health.

Data Archive (aka account data) - There is no guarantee that LinkedIn won't decide to block you or remove your access to its platform. If you have built up a loyal following / business network on LinkedIn and that were to happen, not only could that be very upsetting but it could be financially ruinous.

So, always, always build your network outside of LinkedIn (e.g., on a website or email list) and regularly back up your LinkedIn data on a regular basis.

But I can always contact LinkedIn support and get it turned back on, right? Not if you are blocked from the platform.

The easiest and fastest way to obtain a copy of your LinkedIn data is to initiate a data download from your?Settings & Privacy ?page (source LinkedIn)::

1. Click the??Me?icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Select?Settings & Privacy?from the dropdown.
3. Click the?Data Privacy?on the left rail.
4. Under the?How LinkedIn uses your data?section, click?Get a copy of your data.
5. Select the data that you’re looking for and?Request archive.

You can select specific categories of data or a larger download. If you select a specific type of data, we’ll email you within minutes. If you select the larger download, you’ll receive an email within 24 hours. Use the link provided in the email to download the information you requested. The data will be available for download for 72 hours.

Some things to to note (source LinkedIn):

• You should only download your data from a personal computer and not a public computer.
• This feature is currently not available on mobile.
• You'll only receive the categories of data that are applicable to your account and activities on LinkedIn. For example, if you don't have certifications listed on your profile, you won't receive a Certifications file.
• LinkedIn will only provide your own personal data and not that of other members. LinkedIn does not provide?People You May Know?or?Who’s Viewed Your Profile?data.
• If you close your account, you'll no longer have access to your LinkedIn account data.
• You may notice in your connection data that some of your connections’ email addresses are missing. That’s because members choose in their privacy settings whether to allow others to download their email address.

Data Request (form) - The data request form option enables you request what data of yours, LinkedIn has shared with 3rd Party Vendors.

Defamation report - If someone defames you online - different defamation rules may apply to different countries - then fill out this form if you truly believe that content posted by a member on the LinkedIn social media platform defames you under applicable laws

Desktop LinkedIn - As odd as it may seem, there are things you can do on LinkedIn when you connect to LinkedIn via a mobile phone that you cannot do on a desktop PC or Mac. For example, you can record your name pronunciation on a mobile phone but not on a desktop PC or Mac. You can write and edit articles on your desktop PC but not on your mobile So if you find yourself trying to do something you know works but can see how, swap devices.

DMs (direct and group messages )?- Direct messages are private messages that are sent and received via the Messaging tab. You can send direct messages / DMs to up to 50 people in a single group.

Document post - You can upload a Word, PDF or PowerPoint document and post that as content on LinkedIn.

Learn more about?how to create a document post .

Don't - As much as it should not need to be said, remember don't spam, pitch slap, be sexist or 'other' LinkedIn members. Its not cool, it is not right and will lead you to getting banned or ostracised on this super platform. Also don't spend huge amounts of time on LinkedIn as that is probably not the healthiest thing to do.

Dwell time -The LinkedIn algorithm metrics interprets dwell time, the amount of time someone spends consuming a particular price of content, as an interest or readability metric. Therefore, the longer the LinkedIn audience spends consuming a piece of content the more valuable and interesting that content maybe to others. Note not everyone connected to you gets to see your content. More 'popular / interesting' content is promoted by LinkedIn as it wants to attract and keep people on the platform to enable it to advertise to them.

End.

This is the end of all things LinkedIn beginning with the letter 'D'.

LinkedIn has enabled me to grow a business and a highly engaged technology community. If you learn to master LinkedIn, you too will be able to do the same.

Next time I will share a blog post starting with the letter?"E" and talk about

I hope you enjoy the journey ahead and that all the tips giving help you become the go to expert in your technology sector.

Do let me know if you would like me to include an explanation for any missing 'D's or want me to go into detail about a topic in a later alphabetical letter.

Have a perfect day.

Kieran Gilmurray

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DM me , visit my LinkedIn profile or my personal website to learn more about the things I can do for you and your business -?www.gilmurray.co.uk.

p.s., If you would like to contribute?your 'independent, vendor agnostic' real world LinkedIn expertise to this series, then please do reach out to me.

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Free to repost but not for commercial use:?We are a community of LinkedIn specialists and technologists with years of real world experience. We have stories to tell and the scars to show for it. We all share our collective wisdom for free to simply provide as much value as we can to you. Therefore, if you want to post this article on your LinkedIn page then please feel free to do so.?But kindly do reference me as the content owner.

Further Help:?If I can help you in any way please do reach out.

Note:?The views expressed above are our views and not those of my employer or the employers of the contributing experts.