# What's the deal with LinkedIn? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 18, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729 "2014-10-18T18:26:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729/21 "2014-10-19T13:53:19Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > If people want me to add them, I do. Unless there’s no cookie and it asks for my password, which I don’t likely know. Lots of people call me experts in something or another. I don’t quite know the LinkedIn word for it, but essentially it means someone has vouched for my competence in something. I keep telling myself that someday I will return the favor, if I’m ever convinced that it was a favor in the first place. > > I get lots of recruiter spam from LinkedIn. I suppose I only consider it spam now because I’m gainfully employed, though. Endorsements. I refuse to endorse anyone because I see the endorsements I get from people who no way of knowing if I’m good at genetics or whatever. I find it a stupid, useless feature. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729/22 "2014-10-19T14:03:13Z")
I’m not sure why. But I get the idea there is one person who created Linkedin and is now sitting back and collecting a bunch of money somehow every month from their creation. I’m guessing it has to do with some kind of advertising. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729/23 "2014-10-19T14:15:25Z")
The other thing its nice for is that you can join groups that are having discussions. And groups can be very targeted. My former field was sort of small (ITAM - Software), and checking the conversations people where having and the articles linked to was helpful (“hey, look at this Oracle license change - and here is something on how you want to address it.”) Its important when you are job hunting or hiring for many professions. Its a pretty good tool at conferences as well. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729/24 "2014-10-19T16:07:39Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > I’m not sure why. But I get the idea there is one person who created Linkedin and is now sitting back and collecting a bunch of money somehow every month from their creation. I’m guessing it has to do with some kind of advertising. Ah, you’re nuts. LinkedIn, like all the collaborative social media and communication sites and services, exists on a plane above mere greed and commercialism, and serves the higher good of putting humanity in touch with itself to bring on the technorapture. And stick it to the Man. And prove that all individuals are just as good as everyone else. Kumbaya, dude. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729/25 "2014-10-19T16:31:30Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Okay. It works great for you and the other users for whom it works great. > > I have 100s of people in my network who find it useless, or next to. I think you need to set aside whatever emotions you have related to this topic (you appear to be emotional about it) and just analyze it on it’s use and merits, keeping in mind that you may be focusing on how one group uses the tool and forgetting that there can be multiple different types of uses of a tool and many different groups of people with varying levels of value. In my experience, it is a decent tool for keeping track of your network. Where else are you going to put that info, in a spreadsheet? Why not use a free service like linked in, especially given that so many other people are using it, it means you have a much higher percentage chance of locating/tracking someone than if you use some other tool. Furthermore, I see industry/application specific groups that get used quite a bit for sharing information between people at different companies, best practices, how to handle situation X in application Y, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729/26 "2014-10-19T16:36:12Z")
There is a real shortage of people in my career field. Because of that I get a few emails or calls a week about job openings via Linked In. Some of those calls are from recruiters AKA headhunters. I work in software. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729/27 "2014-10-19T17:45:51Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > I think you need to set aside whatever emotions you have related to this topic (you appear to be emotional about it) and just analyze it on it’s use and merits, keeping in mind that you may be focusing on how one group uses the tool and forgetting that there can be multiple different types of uses of a tool and many different groups of people with varying levels of value. I’ve said more than once it works for those for whom it works. I am merely arguing that that’s a subset of “everyone,” even some of us in what would seem to be fertile ground for its functions. No need to defend it from an emotional perspective. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729/28 "2014-10-19T17:47:28Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > I’m not sure why. But I get the idea there is one person who created Linkedin and is now sitting back and collecting a bunch of money somehow every month from their creation. I’m guessing it has to do with some kind of advertising. Why would you think it’s not that way? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729/29 "2014-10-19T17:51:47Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Why would you think it’s not that way? Because _he_ has a sense of humor, which seems to be at peculiarly low levels in this thread. Maybe the meta-net of **LI** feforms hasn’t evolved that far yet. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729/30 "2014-10-19T18:10:53Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Because _he_ has a sense of humor, which seems to be at peculiarly low levels in this thread. > > Maybe the meta-net of **LI** feforms hasn’t evolved that far yet. 😃 That could be! ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729/31 "2014-10-20T03:28:59Z")
LinkedIn has been doing another trashy thing (at least as of about a year ago, when it was all over the tech news sites): They run this database of job seekers. Employers _pay_ LI for access to search this database. But at the same time, LI hits up job seekers to pay $29.95 to be positioned at the top of the search results. Is this cheating the employers, who are paying for (supposedly) fairly ranked search hits? Well, according to someone in LI customer service, the employers have an option to disable that when they do a search. So, now LI is cheating the job-seekers who paid money to be at the top of searches. This story was blown open about a year ago. Most of the articles I saw at the time linked back to several columns written by [Nick “Ask the Headhunter(R)” Corcodilos](http://corcodilos.com/blog/6547/linkedin-payola-selling-out-employers-and-job-hunters). ETA: For example, here’s an article in [Forbes](http://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2013/09/03/has-linkedin-crossed-an-ethical-line/) about it, that links to [another article](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/ask-the-headhunter-is-linkedin/) by Corcodilos. ---
**Author:** ![David\_H\_Singanas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@David\_H\_Singanas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_H_Singanas)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729/32 "2014-10-20T03:37:41Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > No damn wonder LI users are pissed. According to articles I saw back then, many were canceling their LI accounts because of it. Oh, and suing LI too. I am surprised that they are still doing this shit. Senegoil, Guess what. You cannot cancel your account; you are a “linked in” person for life. When I was completing my application for LI , I noticed there was no “back” option, as in “go back” or “go back to previous screen.” I immediately stopped my application. To no avail. They had enough info on me to use my name beyond my death. Yes, it is true that you will receive invitations to contact persons who are unaware of such invitations. Singanas 10-19-14 ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729/33 "2014-10-20T04:12:22Z")
> [@David\_H\_Singanas](#): > > Senegoil, > Guess what. You cannot cancel your account; you are a “linked in” person for life. As a never-was LI member (and never-regretted-it), I didn’t know that. But I know, even from personal communication with a member, that some are at least wanting to quit. And stop calling me Senegoil! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729/34 "2014-10-20T13:17:40Z")
If you know, _know_, you’ll never need or want to look for a job in a professional field, and will never have any interest in helping anyone else do so either, then no, LinkedIn is useless to you. Life has a way of coming up with surprises, though. You \*may \*someday suddenly find it’s the most helpful tool anyone could ever think of. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729/35 "2014-10-20T19:47:11Z")
Pro tip: if you look at your “people you may know” list, and it gives you the option to “Connect”, that person already has a LinkedIn account. If it gives you the option to “Add to Network”, that person has no account\* and will get a spammy message from LinkedIn you asking them to sign up. \*or at least not one associated with that e-mail address. ---
**Author:** ![Hakuna07](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3be4f8/32.png) [@Hakuna07](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakuna07)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729/36 "2014-10-20T20:03:42Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Endorsements. I refuse to endorse anyone because I see the endorsements I get from people who no way of knowing if I’m good at genetics or whatever. I find it a stupid, useless feature. This entirely! I work at a newspaper and a lot of coworkers are throwing around “endorsements” the same way facebook uses “likes”. I’ve got a mighty impressive profile with practically no input from myself and keep getting offers to apply for jobs that I would know nothing about. I’m hoping for 2 or 3 more years, then a package, and then I will sign off linked in for good. Its just a backup plan right now. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729/37 "2014-10-20T21:41:24Z")
LinkedIn is great. Don’t use it for contacts; use it for looking at people’s job history. Have a dream job? Look at people who have that job. Look at their education and entry level career path. Do that. Trying to choose a grad school? See what people from the schools you are looking at end up ten years down the line. Got an interview or meeting? Look them up on LinkedIn. You’ll have an idea of their background and can come armed with conversation fodder. Hiring? Getting a new coworker? Check out the resumes. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2014, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729/38 "2014-10-21T02:13:34Z")
As a hiring manager, I look up any applicant we get on LinkedIn. You’d be amazed (or perhaps not) how many people will have resumes that don’t agree with their LinkedIn profiles, even on the most objective information. Titles, dates of employment, even college degrees. I always assume the LinkedIn profile is correct. After all that is the version of the truth the current employer and college classmates can see. Be a bit funny when your Wichita State classmates wonder how you managed to get that degree from KU at the same time. Or your current boss wonders how you became a Director of Marketing, instead of an Account Manager (sales rep). ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2014, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729/39 "2014-10-21T06:16:03Z")
I would never want to be a member of a website that would accept my application. D’Oh! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729/40 "2014-10-22T06:53:23Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > I always assume the LinkedIn profile is correct. After all that is the version of the truth the current employer and college classmates can see. Be a bit funny when your Wichita State classmates wonder how you managed to get that degree from KU at the same time. Or your current boss wonders how you became a Director of Marketing, instead of an Account Manager (sales rep). I wouldn’t assume that. My LinkedIn profile is correct but a bit sparse. If I was suspicious I’d ask for a transcript or something, but why would someone lie on a resume and be correct on LinkedIn? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-linkedin/701729.md?page=3)