Linked In Relationships; Who Sets the Standards

I've been pondering a bit lately on the standards of relationships and interaction here on Linked In. What I've observed and continue to observe on this platform is a lot of people looking to serve themselves (and their businesses) through the connections they seek and for me this is totally the opposite of what relationships are about... period.

Some may say 'but it's a business relationship. It's different. You can get away with more' and my response to this is ... Why would you want to? Can business relationships not hold the same integrity and care as any other relationship?

The answer of course is yes they can. I experience this every day in the many working relationships I enjoy with colleagues and other professionals within my industry that are based on decency, respect and care - the three pillars for me when it comes to relationship. And these are just the start.

But the truth is the opposite of this occurs here on this platform and within our industries in general.

How many of us have received a connection request here on Linked In and it sets our internal alarm bells ringing? Something just doesn't sit right, but we see they’re in the same industry, they have some mutual connections etc etc ... so what’s the harm right?

So we hit the accept button and the next thing, or sometimes 24 hours later depending on how sophisticated the marketing technique... you receive a message in your inbox that goes a little something like this..

Hey Anna,

So great to connect with you (or great profile). I’m wondering if you could do me a favour and I know this might be a bit forward but, my (company name) has a really cool app/tool/website/service etc that would be a great fit for (your business name). 

Here’s the link... check it out and let me know what you think?

This is a pretty mild example, some are even less human than the above, others have the flavour of humanity in the words, spouting care and connection but with no real substance to back it.

For me this exposes two areas that need to be addressed within business....

1. People have lost connection to the fact that first and foremost we are sentient beings living in a world of energy and everything can be felt long before it is heard, seen or read. Regardless of whether we choose to be aware of this fact, the truth is we can sense the energy behind any communication that comes our way. Put simply...we can feel when someone is genuine or not.
2. In the marketing industry this type of behaviour has become acceptable both in business to business and business to client marketing. Some people will stop at nothing to push their agenda/tool/app/business/byline with little to no respect that they are actually speaking to another human being...and thats the least of it.

In short...we have lowered our standards in business dealings and relationships...and it's time to raise the bar.

We have a way to go to get back to what I see as very simple principles and practice of decency, respect and not imposing on others both on this platform and across our industries in general.

Anna McCormack

Founder/Principal Social Media Consultant & Educator at Beacon Social Media