I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and I finally decided to execute on what I knew was going to be the ultimate result: Closing down my LinkedIn profile.
I’d love to go into great depth and detail about the reasons why but I’m not sure many of them would necessarily apply, but I’ve distilled my decision into a few succinct reasons:
- LinkedIn has provided me absolutely zero value over the last 2 and a half years. Yes, I’ve been counting.
- I have not generated any conversations of significance, zero “leads” for more work and projects, and certainly no new relationships worth noting.
- I waste considerable time managing the requests as well as perusing the profiles that contain little content that I couldn’t otherwise get from the a basic Google Search.
It really is the last point that has gotten me the most upset since I’m spending more time managing a property than getting anything of value.
See, here’s my biggest issue: I have little time to manage things that provide no value. Every single email can quickly rabbit-trail me into something completely un-focused. In an effort to clamp down on wasted time I’m removing all distractions.
So, LinkedIn, you won’t be the first (or last) property that will be disappearing.
Sure, statistically you might saying that I’m losing a lot (so much so that they won’t allow me to manually delete it myself, I need to get “professional support” to get it closed! See screenshot below). Yes, I had reached the coveted “500+” connections, I had glowing character and professional references, and even was a featured Q/A member in their system adding my thoughts to the community on such topics as entrepreneurship, blogging, social media, and more.
But oh well.
On a sidenote I have seen a number of other trust-worthy people that I respect renounce the efficacy and value of LinkedIn citing is simply as a backward online resume with advertisements everywhere. It used to be quite “elite” in it’s culture but no longer does it have that sway.
It’s not that I’m against their growth as a business but I feel they’ve made some compromises on their core offering in an effort to build a profitable business. Too bad, I really did like you for a while.
Finally, I realized that a person can create a much more successful online resume and personal brand on their own; I don’t need to give anyone the keys to my curriculum vitae except myself, thank you, and I certainly don’t need you making money off my work history and experience.
What are your thoughts? Love to hear them.
So long LinkedIn, it was good knowing you. We haven’t had the greatest relationship anyways, right? Remember trying to sue me? Yeah. That sucked.
Andre' Barnes says
Hey John, honestly, I have a LinkedIn account but I don’t use it. I agree with you. I don’t really see the value in it any more.
Daniel Berman says
I’ve invested considerably less time than you probably have in my Linkedin account, though I have built up around 35 connections or so which is higher than average from what I hear. Still the only “lead” I have ever generated turned out to be spammy at best.
It seems to be that there is almost a social expectation developing, that one must maintain accounts on all the major networks to be “cool” or atleast well “connected.” Now that you are seriously working towards dropping Linkedin, it would be interesting to hear your analysis of your connections and interactions on Facebook and Twitter. Whats been good, whats been bad? Does the sheer number of users actually mean anything if the attention measured by the number of eyeballs is not focused on a particular goal?
Barbara Boucher PT, PhD, OT says
“social expectation” – the correct word for efforts to score connections or followers.
I’m in the same boat with getting zero from LinkedIn and I am pretty protective of my time and the number of clicks to manage anything. I’m swaying in the direction of closing my account, too.
LinkedIn is fun, but not real fun.
Vince Marotte says
I gave it a ‘drop’ on Social Smack – http://www.socialsmack.com/brands/linkedin and got some interesting responses.
For me…it has yielded nothing. 99% percent of my connections I already have on FB or Twitter.
I would say that in Church/ministry space it is useless, but from what I see on Social Smack it seems to really be a good tool for professionals.
…or maybe people feel pressured to not bash it for fear of rejection.
Brian Alexander says
Been thinking about this for a while. Executed: http://d.pr/N9wY
John Saddington says
rad!
Kathy Fannon says
I’ve been debating whether or not I want to get a LinkedIn account. Thank you for helping me decide. It sounds like it’s more work than it’s worth and probably overkill for me at this point.
Terri Tffany says
I am glad to read this. I’ve not figured out myself the purpose for it and had thought maybe I was missing something. I’m connected to many people but we never connect!
Rodlie says
Yeah, thanks for bringing this up….I have an account. I have no idea how many connections I have. I honestly don’t care. Like you say, I’ve never used it for anything at all. Ever.
People connect to me. Nothing happens. Never hear anything. Don’t really get what the point is to be honest. Twitter on the other hand has been so much more useful to me.
Immediate and real connections taking place quite often.
Robert Talbert says
I don’t really get much out of LInkedIn, but then again I put almost nothing into it. So, I’m keeping my profile around until it becomes work to maintain it.
Jon says
I have used LinkedIn to gain new business for my company, learn about new applications, and build a professional community. I find it very useful for my purposes.
Barry says
Interesting post. I have recently been toying with my Linked In account. Jury is still out. Interestingly enough one of the people I happen to follow on Twitter and is apparently a big time person on Linked In uses one of the most annoying tools…an autoplay video. Nothing bugs me more! Makes me wonder if I too should just pick up my ball and go home.
Ankita Gaba says
You could have chosen to be inactive. Why delete it entirely?
John Saddington says
just because. more about who i am than anything else. just rather get rid of it entirely.
Eric Dye says
I begin to wonder about this once they began to implement the “status update” feature and the ability to tie it to a Twitter account. Very social-network-ish.
I’m not sure if I will remove it, since I don’t spend much time on it anyway.
None the less, great points.
Thank you for being real.
Jen says
I agree that LinkedIn isn’t my most active network, but I find it a valuable tool to manage current information. I’ve been able to stay connected with people all over the country as they shift jobs. So I use it as a tool rather than a network. I have to say I spend less than 5% of my time managing the site, so that makes it worth it for me.
Graham Brenna says
I get it. My LI account sits there unattended all the time. It is automatically updated via twitter and my blog. But aside from that I get very little to no interaction. Once in awhile I’ll get an email telling me that someone wants to connect with me. I accept… then they don’t connect with me. It’s probably time I delete my account as well now that you’re bringing the thought to my head.
Like you said… it’s a great idea… but I’ve got a blog that comes up at the top of a Google search with my name ‘Graham Brenna’.
Joey Costanzo says
I did find an employee from LinkedIn….outside of that no sales……I don’t put much effort into it, but will keep it just for the off chance i find another employee….I may change my mind.
Justin Wallace says
I’ve also been thinking about this for a while. I’ve been thinking about why I sign up and participate with certain social media. Do I find my personal value and worth from having a certain number of followers, friends and connections? Do I feel better about myself when I’m followed by another random author or musician? Honestly…yes I do…and that is a problem. I think I’ll shut down my linkedin as a start.
Andrew says
Thanks John. I agree on all accounts.
I’m going to delete it today. And while I’m at it, I’m going to do a quick rundown of all other sites that bog me down and get out. I am seeing a huge need to manage my online time and social network time better and make it more focused.
All these sites need to work for me and often I find myself working for them.
Dan King says
Interesting….
I’m not getting much out of LinkedIn either, but I’m not putting much into it. Personally, I think that it’s good to have my resume out there And as long as it’s not costing me a lot of time, then I’ll probably leave it there… mostly because of it’s familiarity and niche. I don’t expect it to provide regular return, but if it’s being there gets me the RIGHT return just once, then it’ll all be worth it.
John Nemo says
LinkedIn literally got me a new job within days of unexpectedly losing one back in December 2009. Because I had a strong online resume filled with links to projects/stats, loads of recommendations from credible professionals and links to my Blog and a video resume I put together, it really helped set me apart from those people still just submitting paper resumes and cover letters.
I agree that most of the time the LinkedIn e-mails/groups/categories can be a waste of time, and to be honest I ignore most of them. But I find it a GREAT tool to professional networking at companies and with professions and/or professions I want to be looped in with, and if/when I ever need to search for a new gig, LinkedIn becomes invaluable.
John Saddington says
totally agree. linkedin helped me get a job too at one point. but that was more than 2 years ago. since then, nothing.
http://human3rror.com/linkedin-new-job/
Jack Yan says
I don’t blame you. LinkedIn has felt more a chore to me of late than an online network, and in these busy days, we should keep chores to a minimum. I have had no tangible leads from it for a long time, probably more than two-and-a-half years. However, I’m keeping mine because of the endorsements I have—I’ve been on there since 2003, so, like you, I had that ‘500+ connections’ badge. I’m also keeping mine because, no doubt, there’ll be people inviting me to the service as they discover it. Google doesn’t reveal everything about a person, especially as it hides things in a “supplemental index”; LinkedIn seems more focused. So, right now, the mere possibility of use (e.g. reading up someone’s CV, or even keeping mine updated) is holding me there.
Dan Patterson says
I’ve had my account for about two years as well and just do basic upkeep on it. I haven’t seen much come from it either.
Antoine RJ Wright says
I can agree that social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and others can be an incredible time sink. And many times, if you – not just your company – don’t have a strategy towards what you will and won’t use it for, it frankly won’t live long in terms of actual usefulness.
I have a LinkedIn account personally, and its simply a point of reference. I’ve got a number of contacts, and have several recommendations, but my reality is only that LinkedIn serves as one of the many connection points to me personally.
I use a self-hosted webpage that serves as business card, landing page, and front-end to my resume (if its needed for various discussions). To that end, LinkedIn’s activity stream becomes a useful indicator towards any contacts that I do maintain some communication with – and when I reach out of my network (for projects, clients), I’m able to use LinkedIn along with my other social properties as a means to let folks connect.
I like the decision here; it makes sense. I also like the fact that every once in a while when these kinds of posts come along, it causes me to reflect on how much time I sink into all of the various activities that spoke into who I am. If they don’t produce a man who is better following after Christ, then it is indeed a sink worth turning off my attention towards.
Jennie says
You got a point there. I joined to check it out, but haven’t time to really explore all the possibilities. Thanks for sharing. It’s good know…
Hajra says
I started my blog six months ago and no matter how much I tried promoting it on Facebook The traffic remained low, people from Facebook wanted games, pictures…fun stuff….I joined this discussion on LinkedIn and I had 30 people commenting on my blog that single day (of joining)..The discussions and contributors are pretty active on LinkedIn. Also I got in touch with a lot of bloggers through LinkedIn…it’s helping me…