How to Stop LinkedIn’s Toxic Algorithmic Manipulation

4 thoughts on “How to Stop LinkedIn’s Toxic Algorithmic Manipulation”

  1. When during the pandemic the LinkedIn timeline started to look like it was Facebook’s just slightly better behaved twin, I in the end unfollowed everyone (see link for the blogpost about it). I didn’t delete my LinkedIn account (came close, did delete FB) but now treat it like I did in 2003 when I created my account: a self-updating rolodex. Whenever I’m curious about someone, or meeting them that week, I may look them up on LinkedIn to see if there have been any recent changes in their profile, or what they’ve shared recently, but otherwise I leave it alone.

    1. Hi, Ton,

      Thanks a lot for dropping by and for taking the time to share your own experience with LinkedIn. Gosh, I suspect you are not alone with how you treat it nowadays. I am now finally coming on board with that same idea of using it as a space to look people up and see where else are they hanging out with their blogs, to then subscribe to them. Beyond the odd ‘reaction’ here and there, pretty much like everyone else does, I don’t suspect to create any new content in it that may take time or effort.

      The times of investing in someone else’s home vs. one’s own are now over for yours truly. Specially, when that home is a walled garden that could disappear any time. It’s one of the many reasons why I am so happy to have come to this blog and re-connect with different bloggers. I know it may well feel old, but, gosh, I have never felt this young, energised and excited in a loooong time since I was using LinkedIn. Quite telling and revealing in a way, that’s for sure!

      Will comment more about it in your blog post to add further up into the conversation. Thanks a bunch! 🙏🏻😅

  2. LinkedIn is a funny place. I totally agree with your sentiment about the “value” provided when it is just the same kind of stream that I get elsewhere. Like with Twitter, if I just focus on a narrow subgroup (my “favorites” list), I get some useful stuff. But LinkedIn doesn’t seem to provide this, and I just have no reason to go back to visit when I just get random posts that don’t seem to be interesting. I hadn’t even thought about those interesting posts that _do_ show up but then I lose the thread next time I want to visit.

    And don’t get me going on the disutility of the conversation non-threads and email pushes (which I’ve turned off).

    1. Hi, Jack,

      Many thanks for the feedback and for the insightful reflections on your overall experience with LinkedIn. I am glad I am not the only one going through these issues. It’s crazy to think LinkedIn decided to sacrifice the good, relevant content, and interactions, for the sake of ‘engagement’ when being offered to snack around.

      Then again, that’s LI’s business model, i.e. ad revenue, by constantly enticing us to refresh the timeline till we find something either ‘interesting’ or ‘relevant’. Yikes!

      And the awful practices of the LI emails and notifications, my goodness!, that’s obnoxious taken into a whole new level of manipulation! Lab rats, anyone? That’s what I feel LI treats us as, and, surprisingly enough we seem to have a level of tolerance that’s unbearable to watch, pretty much like when those lab rats learn to cope with that dose of poison just to get to the cheese … Except that cheese is nowhere to be seen in LinkedIn at all 😢

      How can that still happen after 20 years in the making to an audience that’s mostly hard-working professionals with a need to connect and network is something that has got me puzzled for a good while now! 🤯

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