Why LinkedIn Rewards Mediocrity (elliotcsmith.com)
- Reference: 0178812422
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/08/21/2045209/why-linkedin-rewards-mediocrity
- Source link: https://www.elliotcsmith.com/linkedin-toxic-mediocrity
Smith argues the platform's reward system creates a destructive cycle where "comments, likes and other engagement" signal user activity to LinkedIn's algorithm, which then promotes similar vapid content. "LinkedIn wants you on LinkedIn," Smith writes, noting the Microsoft-owned platform correlates engagement with ad clicks and premium conversions. Smith recommends professionals focus on substantive work rather than platform gaming, arguing "nothing you post there is going to change your career."
[1] https://www.elliotcsmith.com/linkedin-toxic-mediocrity
Job (Score:2)
I get on linked in when I'm looking for a job.
Other than that? Not so much.
I would argue (Score:3, Insightful)
The problem is actually the users who are engaged by shallow worthless content. Think doom scrollers on Facebook who could instead be learning something.
Re: (Score:2)
Dunno.
While that certainly is a market, I'd like to think much of the doomscrolling is actually looking for signs of life amidst the crud.
Bland engagement can be had anywhere, and short of reinforcing uniformity of opinions, why bother?
But the most puerile takes are often the most popular, so maybe it is parroting just to gain attention?
Re: (Score:2)
You can't blame society, people are people. Ragebait, trolling and "that guy who is so wrong on the internet that I can't not flame him" have been around forever. The issue is that engagement is easily measured, but engagement does not equate to quality. If we had a way of assessing quality that was reliable, we could probably have social media websites that aren't trash.
Re: (Score:2)
This makes sense. There is only a certain segment of LinkedIn users who scroll through this stuff.
I do use LinkedIn, I keep my profile updated, I've gotten three jobs through the site. But the posts and articles, I never bother with, and I've turned off all notifications not related to actual job searches. I suspect there is a significant number of people like me, who use it for job networking, and find the random posts by acquaintances to be mostly overrated or crass self-promotion.
Finally ditched LinkedIn (Score:2)
I nuked my LinkedIn account a couple of weeks ago. The slop on that site is unbelievable. And being retired, I no longer need to care about recruiters or job ads, so meh...
Though... being retired, I did skewer the slop-producers on that site without worrying about watching my tone or language. That was kind of fun, but in the end, it's empty-calorie fun.
Because most people are mediocre (Score:2, Funny)
and they don't want to be told they are mediocre.
Hence if you want to engage most people, you push mediocre content to them to make them feel comfortable, so all social platforms need to reward mediocrity.
If you want to confirm this, just try to point out other people's mistakes in Facebook. See if you get a thank you or if you get flamed for it.
Alogrithm doesn't matter: banality comes from fear (Score:3)
LinkedIn posters almost entirely fit into two categories:
They represent companies so they are fearful of posting anything that would upset their employer.
They are job seekers or potential job seekers who don't to risk upsetting their current or potential employer
Given those constraints, one can't say much that is interesting. And, there is still a feeling that one must be seen so write rubbish they think is inoffensive enough to not them in the trouble. Glassdoor keeps posters anonymous. As a result, even though it is still a job board, the posts and comments are a lot more provocative and interesting.
Thoughtless Thought Leaders (Score:3)
The irony of LinkedIn is there are a lot of people posting wanting to be seen as thought leaders but the posts are largely vapid.
Just social media (Score:2)
"endless stream of posts that are over fluffed, over produced and ultimately say nothing" -- that's just social media in general. Why turn a job board into social media?
A Microsoft product (Score:5, Insightful)
"over fluffed, over produced and ultimately say nothing" ... "the Microsoft-owned platform"
Just like messages in every normal Microsoft product, then. "Teams is preparing the page for you" ... "It's almost ready!" ...
Nothing to do with Microsoft (Score:2)
I don't need an account there, but I've seen a little of it. It is a bazaar, where the relevant "content" are the acquaintances you've made at work, kinda like your namecard holder of 40 years ago, but with self-updating namecards.
The spam that is reposted there by the Indian "HR gurus" in the "timeline" is something people aggressively block or ignore.
"Substantive professional discourse" is something that has never happened on Linked in and isn't likely to happen, just like it didn't happen inside your nam