A FEW IDEAS TO IMPROVE LINKEDIN

(Article last updated on June 5th, 2021 - It's still a work in progress so there will be modifications)

Introduction

I'm writing this article because I have been on LinkedIn for a couple of years, and I have really enjoyed this networking platform. I enjoy the people, the posts, the news, the creativity and the private discussions that I have.

The platform is great and I really like it. Having said that, I think that LinkedIn could become even better with a few adjustments here and there.

Part 1 : What LinkedIn is right now

Today most people see LinkedIn as the "serious social media platform" where high-level/smart people talk about serious subjects and serious economic events. Your LinkedIn Newsfeed is probably full of posts and articles written by brilliant CEOs, CFOs, CIOs and CMOs presenting their ideas and strategies to dominate the market.

So, to say things differently, LinkedIn is always associated with the words "business", "business world" and "seriouness". (because the business world is a serious matter)

LinkedIn is also seen as the place where you make a great profile and where you upload your CV when you're looking for a new job or a new employer. We have all heard many of our friends say : "Dude, I want a new job, I have to update my LinkedIn profile." or "Dude, I don't like my job, I want to work for a better company, I'll put my CV on LinkedIn".

Both perceptions mentioned above are correct, LinkedIn is a place where you'll find thousands of high-level professionnals working in all fields of the economy (and you'll be able to talk to them about serious subjects), and it's also a great place to frequent when you're looking for new job opportunities.

Part 2 : What LinkedIn could be

So, for the moment, the platform is only seen as a place where high-level/smart people go to talk about serious things and where people go to find better jobs, but it's not seen as a true "creator driven platform" (like Youtube, Instagram, Tik Tok, Twitch) where you'll be rewarded for your activity on the platform.

On Youtube, the more videos you make, the more money you make when they are watched. On Instagram, the more pictures you take and the more followers you have, the more money you'll make (with product placement, sponsors etc...). Same idea with Tik Tok and Twitch.

On those social media platforms, the rule is : hard work = direct or indirect rewards (money, fame, partnerships, sponsors etc...).

However, it doesn't work like that on LinkedIn. For example, someone with 2 000 LinkedIn contacts, who posts 3 articles per day, doesn't make any money. The posts will get hundred of views, Likes and comments, but the author will not benefit directly or indirectly from it. In my opinion, this should absolutely change.

So, what do we do ? How does the change happen ? You will find below a few ideas that I have to transform LinkedIn into something better :

Idea 1 : Rewarding exceptional members with money/monetization --- There should be a rule that says "A LinkedIn member with a) 5 000 contacts or more and b) constant weekly activity (posts, articles, Likes, comments), will be rewarded for his loyalty and for his work". So, for example, LinkedIn could pay an exceptional member 1 dollar for 100 views on her/his post. Your post gets 500 views, you get 5 dollars.

Idea 2 : Rewarding exceptional members with a few cool privileges --- A LinkedIn member with 5 000 contacts or more, and with constant weekly activity, should be (according to me) able to send more invitations that the average LinkedIn member. For example, they could send 150 invitations per week instead of 100. There could also be a rule to allow them to send 5 or 10 Inmails per month for example (without having to subscribe to a premium account).

These are just a few ideas of course, I'm sure that people reading this article will come up with other ideas.

---- (work in progress) ----