Think fast: what social networks do you expect girls in bikinis, political statements, and religious rants? Facebook…Instagram…LinkedIn. Wait what??
Insert screeching brakes sound here.
These types of posts are becoming more and more common on LinkedIn. In fact, a war is being waged in the LinkedIn community upon itself. Newsfeeds are filling up fast with complaints of personal, off-color or racy images, mixed with those defending it. And it’s gotten downright nasty, taking up more real estate than ever.
Examples? (replete with thousands of comments pro and con)
– Before-and-after photos of a woman in a skimpy outfit to demonstrate a personal trainer’s results
– an image of a fast food employees praying through the drive-through window with a customer
– An image of an orange-faced businessman with bad hair who happens to be running for president
-A dad showing off the breakfast food porn his kids made that morning
-Posts complaining about these types of posts
-Posts complaining about posts complaining about these posts
…Get the idea?
The fact is, many LinkedIn members want the network to remain the buttoned-up workplace they know, while others choose to use it as a fertile sharing ground for anything.
While LinkedIn does have a community behavior policy in its terms of agreement (like other networks), its ambiguity leaves the policy’s implementation frayed at the edges and open to interpretation (also like other networks). The specific clause forbids a LinkedIn member to “Act dishonestly or unprofessionally, including by posting inappropriate, inaccurate, or objectionable content.”
But what do those words mean in the age of social media and increasingly blurry lines between personal and work lives?
The grandaddy of social networks has made it clear it wants to stay out of this touchy conversation and leave it to members “work it out.”
But me thinks there is something much bigger going on here.
The loud silence gives voice to the idea that the old network is simply “pivoting” in true Silicon Valley fashion. All of the signs and symptoms are there. And it would seem like the next logical step to attempt unicorn social media status and attain relevancy in all parts of its users lives.
But no matter how it dresses for casual Friday, LinkedIn screams work. It’s decidedly not the go-to for a fun fix like a Snapchat, Instagram, or Facebook. And that’s why the company is taking its cue from the blue-logoed, most popular social network in the world.
Look at the mounting evidence: the red notification that excites and brings on that Pavlovian response for more; the “like” button for posts and new jobs; larger, multi-size imagery; more targeted ads and messages on the sides of the pages; the ability to publish (ala post); the new chat feature replacing messages; network birthday notifications, a snazzy new Facebook-like app, and other telltale signs.
The only thing that’s missing so far? Community acceptance.
The fact is, something is not quite connecting for millions of LinkedIn users. Could it be that the community DOES like a modicum of personal and work life to remain separate? Most people feel uncomfortable sharing vacation photos, opining their views on political candidates, or ranting about lousy customer service to a network mostly from former and current employers, professional event or other work circumstances. We have lots of other places to do that, thank you very much.
LinkedIn wants to have it both ways—to be the “world’s largest professional network”— but change the definition of what that means in order to grow and more deeply engage its users.
And it may be fighting a losing battle and in the process turn off community members to what is perceived as a degredated, cheapened network.
The fact is, we all have our own definitions and standards of what stays in the outer circle but there are some common threads—that’s not going to change much over time. It’s the reason we don’t wear shorts to an interview. Or tell our boss we got in a big fight with our mate. Or share that we’re going to a political rally on the weekend. It’s this thing called “boundaries.”
My rule of thumb is if it’s not something I would say to a colleague, it doesn’t go on LinkedIn. That doesn’t mean I can’t have fun or a sense of humor or show my personality— it just means I have no interest in doing more than that on LinkedIn.
This is as personal as it gets.
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