LinkedIn Confessions

As someone who attends this platform regularly, I’ve seen a growing number of disgruntled members opine a perceived degradation of the implicative boundary that insulates LinkedIn from less noble social media sites – like Facebook. Historically, this sentiment has appeared in the form of incursive commentary to posts deemed ‘inappropriate’ for a site that was predicated upon the premise of intrinsic professionalism. But lately, I’ve even seen gag posts presumably designed to take issue with authors that wield objectionable methods, like using attractive women as ocular bait to attract readers’ attention to a topic or message. Interestingly, most of the objections seem to come from men – men who are quick to render judgement, with some going so far as to reference specific anatomical endowments as the basis for their discontent.

Time and time again, I’ve witnessed the piercing criticisms by the purveyors of ‘legitimate protocol’ who claim that renegade posters are diluting the domain with unbefitting subject matter that, at times, goes beyond the mere inclusion of censurable imagery. Non-occupational interests, political concerns and the berating of the Hollywood elite adorn the list of ‘low hanging fruit’ for the hall monitors of precedential compliance, unless said posts are cleverly disguised as an offering with some degree of didactic value.

Being both a professional marketer and prolific user of Facebook, I’ve occasionally found myself skirting the banks of that moralistic moat – the buffer zone of righteous rectitude that some believe exists to protect a domain specifically intended to engender nutrition to the corporate community. The simple fact is that some of us can’t help ourselves when it comes to the desire to ‘crack the crust’ of an otherwise benign motif of trade show portraits, success-building tutorials, managerial therapy and, lest we forget – job seekers. Some of us are known to be weak when it comes to resisting the opportunity to ‘spike the punch’ whenever it presents itself.

Yes, even I have sinned – guilty of enlisting the services of a beautiful model to promote my company’s products, using poetry as a means to enhance messaging and even going so far as to include an image of wild animals indulging in the consumption of intoxicating beverages (following an aberrant case of theft by taking). My only excuse for such behavior lies in my failure to locate an official list of forbidden topics to use, not necessarily as a catalyst for behavior-modification, but as a clue for knowing when to ‘duck ‘n cover’.

Perhaps a viable resolution for the New Year would be to refrain from posting articles on LinkedIn that fail to reach the minimum threshold of ‘professional propaganda’. I often ask myself - should I alter course, follow convention and limit my submissions to colorless musings of low-octane erudition? Should I trade my dictionary and thesaurus for a subscription to the Harvard Business Review?……Nah, I don’t think so. After all, were it not for these adornments of ‘disputatious corporeity’, the actual marrow of my posts might fail to garner any attention – lost to ingurgitation by a raging flood of stoic jumble.

Nope, in all likelihood, I'll remain an honorary member of the avant-garde, a byproduct of 'marketer-meets-poet'. And just to prove it -

Social Media

For years, I’ve been told it’s a risk to enroll in the sites that so many attend – where you create a page as a way to engage any members you choose to befriend.

But if your concern is industrial churn, there’s a site that’s designed for the pro – a networking tool where professionals pool as a means to remain in the know.

The millions that play on the site every day, are attempting to boost their careers - they're casting invites in the hopes they'll get bites from a cast of industrial peers.

It's free to enlist, to be part of the tryst, and a great way to bolster your brand - to open the lid, put your life on the grid and to get a good lay of the land.

The profile you use to attract public views gives a glimpse of your present and past – the path you’ve pursued and the skills you’ve accrued to ensure your position will last.

But should it expire and you're forced to retire your computer and cellular phone, you can stay in the loop as you try to regroup, with an email address of your own.

Your customer list will no longer exist when you're awkwardly walked to the door - you were caught unaware so you didn't prepare, now you find you've been kicked to the floor.

But you'll quickly remount through your LinkedIn account, when the world sees your status has changed, if you craft it with care, so the world's not aware that you're feeling betrayed and estranged.

You’d best keep in mind that the words you opine will persist in the public domain – that the bridges you burn will impede a return and result in a permanent stain.

Recruiters peruse with the filters they use, when they have a position to fill - and the posts that you write are a beacon of light, if you garner a relevant skill.

But some in the bunch have a penchant to lunch any poster they think is risqué, and they're bound to attack if you veer off the track - if you see things an aberrant way.

So, master the tools and beware of the rules when you're donning your paper and pen - your posts that inspire make you easy to hire - but there's danger that's lurking within.