Who is controlling the LinkedIn algorithm

In my last post, I wrote about the Matrix.?

What is the matrix??

“It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes...”

In less dramatic terms, the matrix is all the cultural norms and influences that shape and warp our reality. One major pillar of the matrix these days…social media.

TLDR

• The matrix is all the influences and cultural norms we've accepted as reality without questioning. A big influence these days...social media.
• The LinkedIn algorithm is making decisions based on engagement which is namely to monetize users which is ultimately for money.
• Are social media companies really thinking about the implications of what they're building? Clearly not.

Here’s what it looks like in action.

On Tuesday, I wrote about kids stuck in a declining school system and tagged in Vincent Matthews , a black man who has spent the past 30 years fixing schools.

On Thursday, I wrote about the Matrix, investing in communities and tagged in Kevin Chou , a crazy rich Asian man who has spent the past 20 years building gaming companies.

Both are successful and respected in their fields.

Here’s what happened.

A few things impact the LinkedIn algorithm

• Who is doing the posting. I’m the common denominator. It’s just little ole’ me with my 2,857 followers.
• Whether people you tag are directly connected to you.
• Their value on the platform. Kevin is a “top voice” on LinkedIn with 120k followers. I find this top voice designation a little hilarious because I haven’t seen Kev post anything in 2 years.

• How quickly people start reacting and engaging
• How influential are the people liking and reposting
• The type of content. Quick dopamine hits work. A quote, a selfie, anything celebratory. Long-form writing that takes 6 minutes to read? I’m fighting an uphill battle for attention in our increasingly post-literate world.

Going viral?

I knew within 5 minutes which post was going to take off.

Posted Tuesday. Damn. I forgot Dave Lu is on spring break. Is he even checking LinkedIn? Of course he is but he didn’t like this one.?

So, who is controlling the algorithm??

The powerful, wealthy and influential. And you.?

LinkedIn knows what you want to spend time reading about. And you like reading about the powerful, rich and influential.

The algorithm is ultimately fine-tuned for engagement. So, even though my post has only 69 reactions, the algorithm knows people are spending a longer amount of time with it than another quote meme.

Hacking the system

“Kev, I’m on a writing kick. Are you cool if I post this?”

“It’s not really protecting my anonymity. Maybe leave out the building part?”

“I wasn’t planning to make it anonymous, Kev. The only reason why people will read it is because you’re in it. That’s the whole point.”

“I don’t mind the whole midlife crisis thing, but my biggest concern is the vulnerability around not knowing what to do next and your mild punchline about being a billionaire.”

“Kev, I have very limited reach. And here’s the f$#ked up thing about the matrix. I’ve been thinking about the political problem for 8 years, the Asian American civil rights one for 3 years. But I can’t get a meeting unless I copy my wealthier, more famous Stand with Asian Americans co-founders on an email.”

It’s only mildly humiliating. But not anymore than working a COO / President role at my last two startups (not at Hello Heart) without the title, the pay or the recognition. So, in short, I’m used to it.

“Thanks for letting me post. I know you’re a private person. So am I.”

Thumbs up emoji.

The Matrix is a system

And we need to spend a lot more time questioning the system.?

• Who controls the levers??
• Are the PMs and devs thinking about the broader implications of what they’re building? In the case of Facebook, clearly not.
• What implicit and explicit biases are built into the system??
• What parts do we buy into that we’ve never even questioned??
• Who is given advantage??
• Who isn’t?
• What is the ultimate aim of the system??

When you follow the white rabbit, it always leads you back to the money.

On LinkedIn, it’s all about the monetization of users. In short, it's about the money.

Although LinkedIn’s stated mission is to “connect the world’s professionals,” its algorithm is really about keeping you engaged long enough so advertisers and recruiters can mine your data and target you to facilitate a transaction.

And LinkedIn does this very effectively - 990M users, $15B in revenue growing at 8% annually.?

How many horrible decisions do we all make for society for the explicit purpose of making money? So many.

I’ve been thinking a lot more about the system... and how to dismantle it.