LinkedIn's Melodramas: Forget Networking, Grab Some Popcorn!

“Failure Porn”: The LinkedIn Circus You Never Signed Up For.

Remember the golden days when LinkedIn was the sober-suited cousin of social media platforms? The one you could introduce to your parents without blushing? Those days are long gone. Now, it's like walking into an arena where every gladiator has traded their armor for tissues. Every story seems to be a phoenix rising from the ashes, soaring towards... well, another “failure porn” post.

We've all seen those tearjerkers. Some self-proclaimed entrepreneur dramatically spills their history of failures. The sagas often have a twist, ending in a dizzying success so grandiose even Icarus would think twice. You'd think Shakespeare was alive, crafting tragicomedies just for LinkedIn.

Enter the Land of Forgotten Professions

Now, here’s the kicker. I, for some bewildering reason, often know more about the many failures of some of these LinkedIn luminaries than about their actual professions. Surprising, right? I spot one of them in a café, and I can smugly think, “There goes that epic loser,” ?? but if you put a gun to my temple, I swear, I wouldn't have the foggiest idea about their actual business.

Isn't that a tragic irony? On a platform brimming with business opportunities, where people are meant to connect, collaborate, and create, I know their “I lost my favorite pen but still closed a million-dollar deal” story but haven’t a clue about what they’re selling. Perhaps that's their unique branding strategy? Or maybe it's fodder for yet another upcoming post on failure – “How I made everyone aware of my failures but nobody knows my business!” Lol.

Decoding the Enigma of Overexposed Failures

Let’s dissect this. What’s with this oversharing of failures? Don’t get me wrong, everyone loves a genuine underdog story. Churchill did mention,?

Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm

?But surely, he didn’t mean narrating every misstep from that time your lemonade stand collapsed when you were five to the Wi-Fi dropping during your last Zoom call.

Why the compulsion to share? Vulnerability? Authenticity? Attention? Let’s not even get started on those embellished tales of woe-turned-wow. Are they part of the “fake it till you make it” brigade? Because from where I’m sitting, the "make it" train seems to have left the station a long time ago.

So, What’s the Correct Blend of Truth and Drama?

The real reason, the genuine reason, one should ever reveal their failures is to pass on wisdom. If your dramatic recounting doesn’t end with some sage advice, maybe, just maybe, keep it to your personal journal.

Navigating this maze can be exhausting. But fear not, fellow LinkedIn user. When confronted with these stories of 'woe-is-me-now-look-at-me', trust your gut. If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is just another duck in the “failure porn” pond.

A Quandary for the Eons (or Until the Next LinkedIn Update)

Dear LinkedIn diarist, the next time you’re poised to detail your latest tragedy-turned-triumph, pause. Ask yourself: Is this an earnest lesson for my network or am I just auditioning for the next big tragicomedy? Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to get back to the core of LinkedIn - genuine connections, not contrived confessions. ??