BYE, BYE, BUY LINKEDIN "PREMIUM"

Given the year that I was born, I have the privilege of categorizing myself as either "Generation X" or "Millennial." The Gen X part of me still pines away for Fruitopia and can remember having to use - yes - a payphone to call my Mom when I was in middle school so she could pick me up after swim practice. Yet the Millennial in me looks at my phone and says, "I can make all sorts of money with this thing! And phone calls, too!" I used to feel that way about LinkedIn. I gladly paid $100+ per month for the privilege of seeing who was peeking at my profile, having access to a broader network, InMail to introduce myself to strangers. It easily paid for itself. I didn't think twice about it.

I could tell you countless stories about how casual introductions on LinkedIn led to big business deals, but I'm not going to. It would do me no good, because LinkedIn isn't listening. Plus, there are some that really do believe that - *gasp* - LinkedIn is becoming too casual. May the heavens forbid that LinkedIn incorporate any modicum of what comes with the social networks that we're used to using personally, re: Facebook. To those of you who posted, whined, and cried ad nauseam that LinkedIn was becoming too informal, too casual, too Facebook-y, well... Voilà: wish granted.

As I was first trying to figure out what the hell happened to LinkedIn, I decided I wanted to change my background image to reflect my new venture. I searched and I searched for the "View profile as" feature. You know, the one that ALLOWS YOU TO PREVIEW HOW THE REST OF THE WORLD VIEWS YOUR ONLINE RESUME! I had to dig deep, and guess what I discovered?

Hmm... removing this feature is like not being able to review the spacing, alignment, etc., of a traditional paper resume. Is it just me, or was I the only one that "heavily used" this feature as I tweaked my profile? When I saw this, I thought to myself, "I'm out."

GOOD NEWS FOR LINKEDIN "PREMIUM" USERS

After I finish this article, I am canceling my premium membership, and I recommend you do the same. This will free up, bare minimum, $1200/year to invest in other platforms that are driving business. Did you know I closed a deal using the "casual" service known as Instagram?

It might sound crazy, but it ain't no lie: bye, bye, buy.