The LinkedIn Publish Feature – Two Reasons Why It Sucks

I think I got out of the wrong side of my social media bed today – #grumpy

If you’ve been anywhere near LinkedIn in recent weeks you’ll have noticed that pretty much everybody is now ‘taking advantage’ of their new(ish) publishing feature. When once you might have visited LinkedIn to look for a job, or get in touch with someone, now…LinkedIn is all over the place.

So – in a half arsed attempt to put myself in a better mood and get this off my chest, here are my two reasons why LinkedIn’s publish feature sucks.

1 – It’s relentless, the online equivalent of being repeatedly hit over the head with a sock full of marbles #grumpystreetfight. The torrent – and that is how LinkedIn feels to me currently, a torrent, it’s overwhelming. I’m not waving, I’m drowning.

2 – It makes LinkedIn feel like a badly laid out supermarket. I hate it when I go shopping and those damn marketing types have moved the apples, or switched the beer and the nappies around. I can’t find anything anymore #grumpyshopper. Currently – the same goes for LinkedIn, it’s all over the place, confused. Has someone given the marketing department the keys to the restricted meds cupboard again?

Fear not – it’s not all doom and gloom. My friend Gautam Ghosh sent me this link on how to mute the endless stream of notifications. Warning – this helpful hint has been posted on the LinkedIn publish platform!

Looking on the bright side – after a start like this, today can only get better, right?

Author: Doug Shaw

Artist and Consultant. Embracing uncertainty, sketching myself into existence. Helping people do things differently, through an artistic lens.

10 thoughts on “The LinkedIn Publish Feature – Two Reasons Why It Sucks”

  1. 🙂 yes it sounds like Mr Grumpy today….come play golf with me!! Am heading up for two days in Lincolnshire with some mates.

    More seriously Linkedin in is just one channel. I post as it gets my writings out to a different readership. While it works I will use it and when it doesn’t I will stop. Things keep changing and we need to keep moving and innovating (now does that tickle your ears?).

    You are one of the best innovators I know so I am not sure why you are calling to maintain a status quo? Maybe go back to bed and get out the other side? 🙂

    1. What an excellent reply! Food for thought indeed. Thanks Ian – enjoy your golf and I’m really glad you commented so helpfully to my outburst.

  2. Isn’t point 1 just that it’s new and “everyone” is trying it? In a few weeks it will settle down and those who don’t find it useful will stop posting there.

    1. Hi Simon – You make a good point and I hope you are right about the settling down part too 🙂

  3. I agree with Simon – everyone is trying it and that makes LinkedIn look like Facebook for people that can’t write in some cases (but without the cat pictures). It will probably settle down in a while as people realise they are not compelled to post. I’m considering a fortnightly schedule and may publish different content there than my main blog. You have every right to be grumpy though, say I, speaking as “The Victor Meldrew of Business”. Sometimes less is more.

    1. Thanks Peter – I guess I can see how this may be an interesting test – put some content out on LI and some in your own back yard. I haven’t managed to see past the torrent yet to understand if that is how others are currently using the feature.

  4. I’m not sure it’s just a factor of you being grumpy – more that LinkedIn didn’t just lower the barrier to entry so much as opened the floodgates, dambusters style. Whilst it may calm down I’d still prefer to see a greater attempt at curation from LinkedIn themselves. Currently there is too much noise and very little signal.

    Hopefully, the novelty wears off, the stalwart bloggers take the reigns and just becomes another place to crosspost to from their own sites. The success of the Publisher function will rely on it’s ability to drive further traffic to LinkedIn, if the content is deemed to be of low value it will just be ignored.

    1. Thanks Matt – some good points, some curation would certainly help. And I note what you say about cross posting – yawn! If the publish thing is to be used I’d prefer to see people putting up new stuff not just a regurgitation, at least not all the time. I occasionally republish something I’ve written for another site – but only a handful of times in any one year.

      Cheers – Doug

  5. LinkedIn is becoming the M&S clothes dept of professional life: trying to be the life of too many parties. The ‘Congratulate Billy on his work anniversary’ feature: who does this in real life? Bizarre to say the least

    1. Thanks Anne – succinctly and beautifully put. Now if only there was a comment in my size and favourite colour….

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