This disturbing trend has LinkedIn users saying... aka "Clickbait arrives on LinkedIn"

Lately, I've seen much ado on the good ol' LinkedIn with regards to its demise, its pollution, and how social posts that "only belong on Facebook" are creeping into the timelines and ruining the entire experience.  Let me up front say this: I do not disagree that there is a place for every piece of content, and knowing the difference between what belongs on Facebook, LinkedIn, or elsewhere is a key piece of intelligence.  However, I do feel obligated to take a serious look at the site itself and ask why people haven't realized that when you point the finger at someone else, there are usually 4 more pointing back at you?  

LinkedIn is built to allow people to connect with professionals they work with, do business with or want to do business with.  It is also a sharing resource for ideas, industry trends, and professional improvement.  It has further become an invaluable work tool for recruiters, and job hunters alike, allowing people to break out of the standard CV and showcase not only their history, but their passions, their enthusiasm and their unique assets that could be obtained by hiring said individual.  

It has continued to grow, build and develop, and UNLIKE it's more social counterpart has remained fairly consistent in it's layout, feel and interface.  Now suddenly it seems, the site is becoming polluted and its effectiveness undermined by the content that is being shared and posted.  Are you seeing where I am heading yet?

I shared a similar thought on Facebook the other day.  Despite seemingly incessant layout changes, their function and practice has remained fairly consistent; the content is only boosted by their algorithms based on user interest and engagement.  (Sidenote: I am aware it is much more complicated than that, but am using that as a very basic summary.) If we, the end users, did not share repulsive or offensive material on Facebook, or refused to engage with it, then the content wouldn't make it off the poster's page.  

Similarly, LinkedIn has not changed its basic identity.  What has changed is the content that is being shared by the users.  But HAS that content actually changed?  Or is it only just now showing up on your specific feed as a symptom of a diluted professional network?   Much like that "one friend" we all have on Facebook that overshares too often, or is constantly complaining and whining about how awful their life is, there will also be people on LinkedIn that fail to understand what content is relevant to the user-base at large.  

The other question to pose is if this shift in transparency into our personal spheres on a professional networking site is a larger trend of getting better acquainted with our professional contacts?  Before social networking came to be, the workplace expectation was one devoid of pretty much any personal interests.  There was no room for extra-curricular activity discussion, business meetings were solely that, and when you left work you didn't necessarily hang out with your co-workers.  Have we reached a point where professional interactions and relationships are now based on more than just the product or deal the two connections may share?  In my industry, I have seen an increasing reliance on relationship-building with business contacts. Sharing personal interests, talking about the kids and the weekend activities are now commonplace practices to open up meetings and break the ice.  I have no doubt this larger trend is thanks in part to the advent of social media, which has placed a higher worth and visibility on personal depth and insights about those with whom you are doing business.  In fact, I've found that the lack of any common-ground when it comes to personal interests is actually detrimental to solid business discussions.  It does seem nowadays that some personal investment is the minimum expectation when doing business.  

Although this post has turned into a quite lengthy diatribe, I will bring it to a close with two questions to ask yourself if you fear your LinkedIn has become too socially polluted:

1) Is there a problem with the professionalism of your personal contacts on the site?  Are the "offensive" things that keep appearing coming from one person's specific activities on the site?  Then perhaps the connection with that person needs to be addressed instead of the site itself...  If the content is coming from multiple sources, perhaps you need to safeguard your own personal brand a little more aggressively when considering who to connect with.

2) Are you being resistant to a world where transparency and personal authenticity are being valued at a higher level than before?  Could you personally benefit from opening up a bit more, or could your business benefit from opening up a bit more?  

If after reading, you:

 - still feel you've safeguarded your brand effectively with who you have connected with,

 - you are embracing a world where business relationships are becoming more and more transparent with our personal lives and interests,

 - you still think the site is going down the tubes with so much poorly placed content that it is becoming irrelevant to its original purpose,

Then, I would love to hear what you think might be causing this trend in the comments below!  I wrote this post because personally, I am not seeing this "disturbing" trend on my LinkedIn feed.  I think the site continues to suit me well and has been a phenomenal tool in my work in many different roles and functions.  I reserve about half an hour each day to review industry articles,  trends and tips that I source from LinkedIn.  I find these incredibly helpful, useful, and I frequently bring up relevant things I have read on this site with my clients and business partners.  I have yet to scroll through and see posts about monkeys being shot, Hillary's emails, Trump's wall, last night's dinner that was so amazingly plated, What-Type-of-beach-are-you survey or "God-doing-great-things-for-people-who-share-this-post", at least, not enough of them to make me think the site is dying.