Why bother?

Frequently, I find myself besieged by inquisitive characters who grace me with messages on LinkedIn, offering this or that service and a chance to connect. Regrettably, these offers are often wholly unrelated to my profession and my role in my company. It's a rather puzzling predicament, considering one would assume those who scour LinkedIn for promising prospects would conduct the appropriate research to discern the potential contacts' needs and interests.

One ought to feel at ease presenting their company's proposition on LinkedIn. It may prove a stimulating experience and an excellent opportunity to garner feedback on one's products and services. Such endeavours are most appropriate on LinkedIn. However, I must express my befuddlement regarding the numerous contacts I receive from individuals who are utterly clueless about my necessities and inclinations.

My LinkedIn profile is quite extensive. It details my professional history, offers a glimpse into my current ventures, and includes articles that reveal my interests. When a SAP specialist seeks to connect with, I wholeheartedly welcome the initiative. Yet, why did you choose to contact a CTO who writes about AI? Naturally, systems such as ERPs are present in virtually every business. But this does not mean that someone in charge of research & development of new technologies would necessarily express interest in such services.

But there is more, my dear reader. On occasion, I receive messages that appear to be personalised with compliments regarding the achievements of the company I work for or my own exceptional performance, only to pivot swiftly into the offer of some service or another. Regrettably, these proposals are often entirely disconnected from my work and the endeavours of my company within the market. This practice paints a rather unflattering portrait of the individual contacting me, as it is abundantly clear they employ a copy-paste, semi-automatic, or wholly automatic system that targets those whom they deem suitable for outreach. They possess no interest in what these individuals genuinely do or might find intriguing.

The moment you mechanise the interaction, reaching out to as many people as possible, you compromise the quality of your communication and, in turn, reduce the likelihood of achieving fruitful outcomes. You transform your communication into something akin to an advertisement one might encounter in a blog post or during a YouTube video. Most individuals will graciously accept the connection but will politely ignore you, as I suspect most of you are doing.

This is not to suggest that I have never encountered useful connections on LinkedIn. I have, but more often than not, it is because I scour the network for individuals engaged in specific types of work or possessing certain types of businesses or services. Alternatively, I occasionally stumble upon people who have fascinating propositions, and I reach out to them on LinkedIn, leading to engaging conversations and, on occasion, even some business. After all, LinkedIn exists for networking, which involves conversing, exchanging ideas and opinions, stimulating creativity through others' work and thoughts.

I believe that the excessive use of brutal and ignorant automation, employed by so many individuals as a form of "free advertising" or cold calling to those whom they deem to be of interest, is gradually killing the opportunity for open discussions and interactions on LinkedIn. This platform has the potential to be a useful tool for fostering real conversations. As we venture into this new era where computers become increasingly efficient at sifting through data and finding intricate patterns that aid our research, nurturing a more human way of communicating online could prove immensely valuable to both the business community and people in general.

Please do not misunderstand me; automation has its place, but one cannot mechanise human interaction. You may simulate human interaction quite efficiently, which can be incredibly potent when assisting individuals in comprehending complex and intricate matters. However, when the fundamental need is to converse with other human beings and exchange opinions, automation is relatively useless. We must educate ourselves on how to leverage the incredible power that modern communication systems offer us to engage in human-to-human interaction, open debates, constructive criticism, and foster creative thinking.

Why trouble oneself with the use of social networks? As it stands, amidst the incessant bombardment of advertisements and the inundation of insipid messages from bots, having a meaningful conversation is akin to discovering a rare diamond in a muddy bog. So what, then, is the justification for utilising social networks? My response is that the few and far between, yet valuable discoveries - connections, dialogues, concepts - that are sometimes unearthed on LinkedIn are reason enough. The more individuals strive to extract genuine human interaction from a social network, the more it should become humane. For it is the users who shape a network and the algorithms that empower it, not the other way around.

And why do you even bother with the use of LinkedIn? Or, perhaps, why have you abandoned it entirely?