LinkedIn and the humblebrag

A few years ago I happened across a meme that showed the five main characters from that great movie, ‘The Breakfast Club,’ and it likened them to various social media sites.  

I believe that the best memes have the ability to condense complex issues into one humorous image that people ‘get’ in an instant, and this meme excelled in achieving that.  The five markedly different characters are forced to spend a Saturday together in detention, and over the course of the film we get to know, and like, each of them.

Judd Nelson’s character is ‘the Criminal’, an angry rebel who can be abrasive and cruel, but also surprisingly kind and compassionate.  He shares traits with 4Chan, a community that has been described as,“lunatic, juvenile... brilliant, ridiculous and alarming.”  If you are not familiar with 4Chan, it is probably best keeping it that way.

Emilio Estevez, as ‘the Athlete’ is likened to Facebook.  He admits that he is unable to think for himself and that he is a bully.  These are traits that have sadly become more and more synonymous with Facebook in the 3 years since the meme was originally published.

Ally Sheedy plays ‘the Basketcase’, a girl who is a fascinating, unfathomable, deeply complex character, prone to eccentricity, introspection, and fabrication.  I’m not an expert on Tumblr, but this matches with the little that I do know about it.

Molly Ringwald is ‘the Princess’ or wannabe prom queen, who craves attention and popularity.  She introduces herself by announcing, “Do you know how popular I am? I am so popular, everybody loves me so much at this school.”  It transpires that her battling parents are horrendously unpleasant and that she wants to escape her reality by surrounding herself with love and affection.  That sounds like an allegory of Instagram.

Finally, Anthony Michael Hall plays ‘the Brain’, a serious nerd who is focused on achieving the best grades that he can manage.  He is a member of the math, physics, and Latin club, and acquired a fake ID, not to buy alcohol or cigarettes, but to gain the right to vote.  He represents LinkedIn, although members of other sites such as Reddit and Quora have tried to claim him as their own.

Different platforms, different behaviours

The reason that I mention this is not to self-indulgently reminisce about a classic movie, but to highlight how different social media platforms have very different personalities, cultures, users, goals and ways of conducting themselves.  Members typically operate in a certain way on different sites.  However, I have been noticing an increasing number of humblebrag posts on LinkedIn, which I would normally expect to see on Instagram or in the more tedious corners of Facebook.

For those who do not have English as a first language, let me allow [NSFW] Urban Dictionary to explain what a humblebrag is.  They loosely describe it as when somebody consciously tries to get away with bragging about oneself by hiding behind an inauthentic show of humility. This type of insincerity is not very pretty when seen on LinkedIn (least of all to North-European eyes who I believe have a lower threshold to it).  The following is an example about a chap who needs to tell us about the array of trophies on his shelf… as his building burns (credit: @StateOfLinkedIn).

The increased number of humblebrag posts got me thinking about what I considered the role of LinkedIn to be to me.  I see it as a great resource to connect, keep up to date with old colleagues, pick up industry knowledge, explore career options, gain inspiration, have exposure to new working practices, exchange and develop ideas, etc.  It is a business tool and it has lots of great uses.  It is not Instagram, or Facebook, and it is most definitely not 4Chan.

‘The State of LinkedIn’ shares great humblebrag examples on Twitter

As I wrote this article and looked for examples to bring it to life, I came across the brilliant Twitter account of ‘The State of LinkedIn’ (@StateOfLinkedIn) for the first time.  I strongly encourage you to check them out, as what they collate is enlightening, amusing and revelatory.  They share posts by other LinkedIn users who may have had their ‘self-awareness’ momentarily set to off. 

I’m not sure if any of those are sarcastic, and if the joke has sailed over my head, but I suspect most are genuine.  They are extreme examples of the types of posts that I have seen popping up more and more frequently in my feed (obviously never from any of the good people reading this, though).  

We all may have accidentally over-shared in a state of excitement about winning a new client, or doing something cool (I'm sure I have), and this article most definitely is not about that.  Nor is this anything to do with our profile pages, which by their very definition are our best sides, hidden away, unless someone wants to check them out.  I am writing about the intentional and endemic ‘blowing of one’s own trumpet’ on the main feed that wilfully crosses the boundary between ‘of interest to many’ and ‘self-promotion’ and just keeps on travelling into the territory of cringe.

Why do we frown on humblebragging?

People who intentionally brag can be tiresome.  They suck the joy out of normal interactions and suffocate conversation.  Their need to brag often stems from insecurity, low self-esteem, a fear of abandonment, a lack of social-awareness or a need for aggression.  So perhaps we should pity them, rather than become irritated?  Maybe, but some form of irritation is a valid response to someone purposefully attempting to elevate himself above us (and it tends to be a him in my experience).  

In the Nordics, they have a wonderful way-of-being which they call the ‘Law of Jante’.   It is an informal code of conduct that warns against being overtly personally ambitious, and denigrates those who try to stand out as individual achievers by bragging. Did you ever wonder why virtually all of the Scandinavians that you meet are so likeable?

The humblebrag is a more considered and inauthentic form of brag and receives greater opprobrium due to the deceit and manipulation involved. A study has shown that humblebraggers are seen as less likeable, less competent and less likely to influence others.  They are even seen in a dimmer light than the common-or-garden braggart.

Shouldn’t we just let this go and mind our own business?

I think this issue matters because these kinds of posts dilute the great, inspiring, and helpful content that circulates on LinkedIn and diminishes its utility.  I also think it creates an arms race of braggarts trying to outdo each other with more frequent and more inane posts in an attempt to stand out. 

The excellent LinkedIn Commentator Mike Winnet has also noticed the rise of LinkedIn's humblebragging and is speaking up about it.  He thinks a backlash towards the humblebrag is on its way, but warns of the looming threat of 'struggle porn' that may replace it – tiresome posts by people claiming to have woken up earlier, worked harder and endured more to succeed than you or I. 

What do you think?

My favourite saying is that none of us are wiser than all of us, so I would really value any feedback on these reflections and the questions that I am left with.

1. Are there informal ‘rules of behaviour’ on LinkedIn?  If not should there be?
2. Am I just being over-sensitive and should I pipe down about the humblebrag.
3. Is one of LinkedIn’s roles to be a tool to fish for compliments and provide an ego massage when needed?
4. Where is the line between tedious bragging and an interesting update?
5. Is anyone aware of people who have been forced to post on LinkedIn by their employer?

We are the community.  We make it what it is.  Surely we can exert some influence over the environment.  Perhaps by not engaging with humblebrags they may diminish?

tl;dr (too long; didn’t read)

Different social media sites demand different behaviours. I don’t believe that the humblebrag (making an ostensibly modest or self-deprecating statement with the intention of drawing attention to something of which one is proud) has a place on LinkedIn as it dilutes content. I am keen to understand what others find acceptable.  Humblebragging has been shown to stem from insecurity and is ineffective. Where is the line between sharing interesting news and a conceited humblebrag? Will it go away if we ignore it?

Alistair Millar writes the best articles, the very, very best articles, and cares about people that he interacts with more than anyone else that they know.  He works 25 hours a day, 8 days a week and he is an unbelievable guy.  Everybody says so.  Everyone… ;-)