What I learned in jail

They say it takes rock bottom to make a change. In this specific case of confinement, I happen to think that I'm not the one that needs to change. I'm willing to accept my part in this situation, but perhaps the rules behind my incarceration need updated.

Now, before my dear Mother has a heart attack, let's be clear about something. I didn't go to "prison", but rather I was unknowingly placed in "Linkedin Jail".

You may have even seen my "mug shot". It ain't pretty. While the premise of "Linkedin Jail" and the mug shot are meant for entertainment purposes, the actual event of having my account placed under restrictions is no laughing matter, and that is what I want to discuss.

What is "Linkedin Jail"?

Perhaps the first thing we should do is explain how someone ends up in Linkedin Jail, and what that means for the prisoner. According to the fine folks at Linkedin.com, the terms of their agreement state that I won't invite people that I don't know, and that I won't use invitations to send messages to people who don't know me. A restriction occurs when I violate this agreement by too many people clicking "I don't know this person" after declining my invite. (See below)

I'm not sure how many people it takes to click "I don't know Kevin" to restrict my account, but it happened to me. The only way I realized my incarceration had occurred was my invitations now involved having to type in the recipient's email address. After emailing with Linkedin, they released me under probation, basically saying that if I were placed under restriction again, it would be permanent. (LIFE SENTENCE)

Your honor, I object!

I have some concerns about all of this, and perhaps the best way to explain them would be in bullet format. So, here we go...

• On the Linkedin wiki page, it states that Linkedin is mainly used for "networking purposes". Have you ever been to a networking event, where you walked up and said "Hi, I'm Kevin Hicks", and they turned around and said "I don't know this person!" No? Then why is it an option on Linkedin?
• Linkedin's maximum connections is 30,000 people. Which means that Linkedin expects that I might KNOW 30,000 people. Yeah, that sounds reasonable. What it means is that Linkedin knows that we're going to connect with like-minded people in our industry, or connect with people who share our same University, or mutual agreement that alpacas are better than llamas. (Don't EVEN try to deny it)
• If Linkedin's primary concern is the connection of human beings to other human beings, why would there be a punishment for someone trying to connect with industry specific individuals? I've been in finance staffing in the city of Chicago for the better part of 14 years. A quick run-down of my invites would show 95% of my connection requests are to finance and accounting folks in Chicago. Why is that wrong?
• What would make someone click "I don't know Kevin"? Is it because you really don't know me, and there is a button that says "I don't know Kevin"? Ipso facto, you click it. Did you know that you're signing Kevin's arrest warrant? Can we all agree that it probably isn't helping people by clicking that button? If you don't want to accept an invite, I think it better if we kindly decline, and move on.
• I accept that this is Linkedin's playground, and I must play by their rules. My only concern is that Linkedin is SO good at what they do, they've made their site the #1 source in the world for the types of people that I need to know, and the people that need to know me. However, they've put restrictions in place that make a difficult for that to happen. My probation has made it difficult to click that connect button, in fear of the threatened lifetime sentence.

My Plea

I'll plead guilty for being a serial connector, but my reasons are pure as white snow in January. I want to know who you are, what you do, and how we might be able to work together in the future. I even want to know where you're from, and whether you think the last season of Game of Thrones was garbage. We all have something to learn from each other, and as long as I'm alive, I'll never click "I don't know this person", and I plead that you do the same.

The defense rests.

If you like this article, you can find more of my thoughts and musings at my page, Commuting with Kevin.