I Love You, LinkedIn. But These Six Things Bug Me.

I have a crush. Or maybe an obsession. See, I’m on LinkedIn day in, day out. Well, that’s also because of my advent calendar challenge. But I’m hopelessly and zealously plowing my way through all the brilliant features LinkedIn has to offer.

Then again, I'm beginning to notice the first crinkles. It’s like dating someone really. Everything is going great, and then little imperfections pop up and start nagging you.

So here I am. Day 21 of my LI advent calendar. Still smitten, but somewhat peeved. From hateful comments to sexy pictures. I'm starting to spot some glitches.

Maybe you've hit the same bumps along the way?

1.   Posting a dicey comment

I once posted a comment that landed me a mini shit-storm. Oh, you should have seen how colorful the replies got. They literally got so involved hating me, you’ve got to admire their dedication. Michael Rana remembers, he was at the scene of the crime.

In retrospect, it wasn’t smart of me. The author had written a powerful, well-researched piece about Donald Trump, which is always an explosive topic.

Thing is, loads of people had posted poorly-written comments. It pained me to read them. I felt bad for the author.

So I wrote a few lines complimenting the author. But I couldn’t let it go. I wrote two more lines on how the somewhat mediocre quality of previous comments was distracting from the actual article. I re-read my comment three times to make sure it wasn’t offensive.

Apparently, it was.

Professionals from all over the place dumped on my comment, my hair, and my fingernails (yes, in that order). So I deleted it.

I really don’t want to lower myself to that kind of social media interaction. Hey, remember yesterday’s article about Taylor Swift taking the high road?

Archive the incident, get a coffee, and move on.

2.   Reacting to questionable comments

You pour your heart and soul into an article. And when you click publish, your heart kind of skips a beat. So many people support your efforts and writing on LinkedIn, and you truly appreciate it. And when a comment pops up, you get all jittery and itch to read it.

And then you hit your first bump along the way. Sometimes, comments just don’t make any sense, completely miss the point of your article, or are just plain offensive. What do you do? I’ve had two of those things happen to me so far.

The one who posted some mumbo-jumbo:

I mulled it over. Then slept on it. Then asked someone for advice (Thanks, Vanessa). Then pondered it some more. And then I deleted it.

For those of you who haven’t done it: click the three dots next to the comment and click "flag and hide". Then click “report as spam” and pick your reason.

Why did I delete it? It wasn't really relevant feedback, it didn't offer my peeps any value, and it was just kind of rude.

The one who didn’t get it:

I hit reply and reiterated the main point of the article. Then I asked if it made any sense. Miscommunication happens every day. No need to take it personally.

I wasn’t insulted yet (well except my hair and my fingernails, but they’re tough and took it like champs).

3.   Sending default invites by accident

Oh, I hate this, LinkedIn! I think it’s one of my biggest pet peeves here. I’m a big fan of personalizing the message I send someone whom I’d like to connect with. Yet, there are a few situations where it’s not intuitive.

Website version:

1.    You search for John Smith

2.    LI gives you a results page that displays at least five John Smiths

3.    You recognize the one you’re looking for and click “connect”

4.    You lose. LI just sent an unpersonalized message.

The trick is to FIRST click on that person’s profile, and then click connect.

iPhone app (maybe it’s different on Android)

1. Go to “My Network”

2. Under “People you may know” find a person you want to connect with

3. Click “connect”

4. You lose

Ok, so now you think: Go on that person’s profile and click connect? Nope, you lose again.

The right answer is: Go to that person’s profile, click the three dots in the top right corner and click “personalize invite.”

I’d like to apologize to Netta Virtanen who was my guinea pig for this one, but whom I really want to connect with. You’ll get a personal message from me pronto!

4.   Sharing Pouting Pictures

The line is getting blurry. Some of you will strongly disagree with me here.

Recently, my feed has been featuring a growing number of pouting selfies.

As a woman, I can surely appreciate how awesome we are. But I’m not sure I need to be reminded by a pouting selfie.

Somehow, the last place I expected to see sexy pouts was on LinkedIn. I understand that it’s great marketing. All of those photos have plenty of likes and comments, and they’ve probably traveled to all five continents.

But I find no value in them, professionally speaking. I don’t feel inspired, energized, smarter, or empowered. Nor do I find it a remarkable feat to take a selfie.

Candice Galek is the exception to the rule here. She has done a sensational job leveraging the power of sexy pictures on LinkedIn, but then again, she runs a bikini line.

Check out her campaign: Is This Appropriate for LinkedIn

So, what do you think? #SexyPoutMonday?

5.   Automatic notification of mentions in articles

Wouldn’t it be great if LinkedIn notified the person you quoted or mentioned in your article? Heck yeah!

I love to include other people’s perspective in my writing. It makes it more real. We are all connected in some way by sharing similar experiences, goals and challenges. So it feels good to bond.

Plus, after you’ve spent hours writing, editing, and illustrating your article, you’d just be real grateful if LinkedIn automatically notified the people you mentioned.

6.   Aggregated Statistics

I used to hate statistics. But LinkedIn statistics? Yes, please! I’ll take refills on those. It’s a jolly thing to be able to follow the traction your article is getting (or not). And if you’re like me, you’ll also take the time to share your posts with people or relevant groups.

And that’s when it gets muddy.

I looked and looked. But no, LinkedIn does not provide you with aggregated statistics of your posts. Pity.

So even if your article gets likes and comments in some groups, your statistics will only reflect details from your original post.

I reached out to LinkedIn support, here is what they answered:

“At this time we don't have that specific functionality available. We currently only show details for the original post. If the post is shared to other locations (such as groups) these details are not tracked.[…] When many of our members ask for the same improvement, we try our best to get it done.“

Does this bug you too? You know what to do.

I would love to hear about your LinkedIn pet peeves or any insights you have on mine!

If you enjoyed this article, I'd TOTALLY appreciate it if you clicked the thumbs up and shared it. Comments? Yes please - I want to hear from you!

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? Christine is a communication strategist and a notoriously curious person. Hopeless optimist, hustler with a sunny disposition, and klutz at times - she's eager to hear your story.

? Did you miss a daily goodie from my #LinkedInHustle? Find them here.