# Microsoft and LinkedIn **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 14, 2016, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351 "2016-06-14T14:52:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![UncleFred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351/1 "2016-06-14T14:52:20Z")
Its bad enough that my mailbox is stuffed everyday with junk mail because the solicitors keep passing my name and address around. And my phone rings all day from telemarketers. Now Microsoft has bought LinkedIn. It’s like my professional profile and contact info have been sold to the mother of all telemarketers (internet-teers? whatever.) Why isn’t there a big outcry about this? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351/2 "2016-06-14T15:26:58Z")
I’m not sure how Microsoft can make LinkedIn any worse than it’s been up until now. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351/3 "2016-06-14T15:49:31Z")
No one is forcing you to be on LinkedIn. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351/4 "2016-06-14T16:02:11Z")
Not everything needs “outcry”. They are two private companies and LinkedIn is not a public utility or anything. If Microsoft wants to spend $27B on the professional version of MySpace that’s their problem. It is pretty easy to block mail from LinkedIn, or just terminate your account. And I have no idea why you would refer to Microsoft as “the mother of all telemarketers”. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a telephone call or marketing email from Microsoft in my life. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351/5 "2016-06-14T16:10:33Z")
I gladly left Microsoft for the equivalent Google tools years ago. Microsoft is for farmers and LinkedIn is for suckers who want to be “liked”. Two huge losers. Good riddance. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351/6 "2016-06-14T16:20:14Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > No one is forcing you to be on LinkedIn. Duress of course being obligatory. One cannot ever, under any circumstances, critique anything that one is not forced to participate in. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351/7 "2016-06-14T22:10:39Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#): > > I gladly left Microsoft for the equivalent Google tools years ago. Microsoft is for farmers and LinkedIn is for suckers who want to be “liked”. Two huge losers. Good riddance. You’re confusing LinkedIn and Facebook. But since you’re on Google– Are you feeling lonely? Hardly anybody actually uses it. > [@](#): > > Nobody is using Google+. At least, far fewer people than you might imagine. Analytics and visualization blogger Kevin Anderson has charted information about Google’s social-networking platform and found that despite billions of sign-ups, hardly anyone actually does anything on it. > **[Nobody Is Using Google+](https://www.businessinsider.com/google-active-users-2015-1?r=UK&IR=T)** > > Google doesn't want to talk about numbers. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351/8 "2016-06-15T00:14:45Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > You’re confusing LinkedIn and Facebook. > > But since you’re on Google– > Are you feeling lonely? Hardly anybody actually uses it. I believe he’s bragging about being far too clever to use the world’s most widely used PC operating system and office suite of software. You know, Microsoft; those huge losers. He’s a maverick, doncha know. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351/9 "2016-06-15T03:59:07Z")
I liked LinkedIn( ok their are a few issues that have been discussed at length) it has been very helpful in an industry where people move between companies and countries a lot. That said , the linkedin spamming attempts of everyone on your address list were irritating, but manageable. The latest wheeze is that they ask to link to your calendar so they can let you know the other people in the meeting also have some tenuous connection, and no doubt trawling your calendar for contacts and sending in appropriate invites etc. Annoying , but manageable given the benefits of linkedin. Now they are going to be embedded with the outlook calendar/contacts , I Am quite concerned that a whole lot more can be shared outside of my control. . ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351/10 "2016-06-15T04:36:02Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > And I have no idea why you would refer to Microsoft as “the mother of all telemarketers”. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a telephone call or marketing email from Microsoft in my life. Nonsense! I get a call from “Microsoft Security” at least once a week, offering to help me with problems they have discovered on my computer. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351/11 "2016-06-15T12:34:27Z")
My first encounter with LinkedIn was a solicitation to join, ostensibly at the behest of my sister. Since she knows that I have no earthly reasons to ever use a networking tool designed for professionals, I replied, asking her WTH. From the fact that she never responded, I gathered that the reply didn’t go to her. So now, when I see LinkedIn in the subject line of an email, I do what I do with all spam: I scroll past it without opening. This may be why I have some 6000 unread emails in my inbox… ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351/12 "2016-06-15T12:36:19Z")
Also, wth is an outlook calendar? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351/13 "2016-06-15T14:22:10Z")
Assuming you’re serious (I only get one when my employer or client provides it and was perfectly happy not knowing about it), it’s the calendar function within Microsoft’s email program. Right now I have two, which is kind of a PITA as I need to synch them manually. Thank Og I’m not important enough to have more than half a dozen meetings a week. > [@Precambrianmollusc](#): > > I liked LinkedIn( ok their are a few issues that have been discussed at length) it has been very helpful in an industry where people move between companies and countries a lot. This. It’s also been helpful for many of my acquaintances who don’t bounce around so much, and when we were checking up possible new hires. Hint: you really, really, really do not want to have a profile that’s exactly identical to three other guys, down to the typos. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351/14 "2016-06-15T14:58:35Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Assuming you’re serious (I only get one when my employer or client provides it and was perfectly happy not knowing about it), it’s the calendar function within Microsoft’s email program. > > Right now I have two, which is kind of a PITA as I need to synch them manually. Thank Og I’m not important enough to have more than half a dozen meetings a week. I only ever used Outlook Express for email. Never had a use for any other Outlook features, so I never looked into the Outlook suite beyond that. For the past ten or so years I just use gmail. And the things I schedule never have anything to do with my job; I just type them into my tablet. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351/15 "2016-06-15T15:01:43Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > This may be why I have some 6000 unread emails in my inbox… correction: I just checked, and this may be why I have some **15000** unread emails in my inbox… ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351/16 "2016-06-15T15:48:14Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > correction: I just checked, and this may be why I have some **15000** unread emails in my inbox… You know you can delete those, right? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351/17 "2016-06-15T15:53:44Z")
I just deleted a couple of thousand over the past half-hour or so. Pain in the ass, though, so whether it’s worth the trouble is debatable. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351/18 "2016-06-15T18:49:26Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > Not everything needs “outcry”. > > They are two private companies and LinkedIn is not a public utility or anything. If Microsoft wants to spend $27B on the professional version of MySpace that’s their problem. > > It is pretty easy to block mail from LinkedIn, or just terminate your account. > > And I have no idea why you would refer to Microsoft as “the mother of all telemarketers”. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a telephone call or marketing email from Microsoft in my life. Same here. Microsoft has never called me, the bitch! (I think she texted a few times though, when I forgot my password.) > [@QuickSilver](#): > > I believe he’s bragging about being far too clever to use the world’s most widely used PC operating system and office suite of software. You know, Microsoft; those huge losers. > > He’s a maverick, doncha know. Gotta love those _too cool for school_ types. Or ignore…I forget which it is. > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > My first encounter with LinkedIn was a solicitation to join, ostensibly at the behest of my sister. Since she knows that I have no earthly reasons to ever use a networking tool designed for professionals, I replied, asking her WTH. If one doesn’t pay attention with any social networking site, it will grab your email contact list and send out a blast when signing up. Sometimes they’ll even remind you to invite your “friends” after you’ve signed up and if you are clicking things closed too fast, an email blast goes out. Friends, of course, is defined as any email address in your inbox that does not have a corresponding social media account (including your own email addresses, if you have more than one). Annoying as hell, they all are, but they have their uses. ---
**Author:** ![UncleFred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351/19 "2016-06-16T01:01:59Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > Not everything needs “outcry”. > > And I have no idea why you would refer to Microsoft as “the mother of all telemarketers”. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a telephone call or marketing email from Microsoft in my life. Exact quote “telemarketeer (or whatever)” in the sense of unwanted solicitations. Articles about the acquisition say owner Microsoft will be making it easier for businesses to reach target customers. Sorry but I smell yet more unwanted solicitations coming. Its a fair point that one can always quit. But long time members have made an investment in building up their network, and provided information to LinkedIn, in return for which they get to keep track of acquaintances as they move around professionally. Now they (well, I) would have to walk away from that. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351/20 "2016-06-16T02:13:10Z")
Microsoft and Google both built their empires on buying out companies so they could take credit for other people’s work. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-and-linkedin/757351.md?page=2)