QWERTY: "linkedBIN"

On: The most milquetoast website I think I've ever existed on, and a company that doesn't understand itself. "Repeat 3 times in the mirror, and the garbage man shall arrive: 'linkedBIN, linkedBIN, linkedBIN'"

It's a public holiday in my home town of Melbourne, so I tap-tap-tippy-tapped on my key-key-keyboard about our favourite insufferable corner of the internet, with some opinionated opinions.

No potshots at any one person in this article.
*basically no potshots at any one person in this article

Hi Linkedin, I’d like to write you a little note.

Just a lil late September 2025 ping to let you know that unfortunately for all of us just trying to build businesses over here:

You’re a Bin.


I don’t feel bad writing that, and tbh, I’d doubt you’re even self-aware to realise that, either.

You’ve fattened up your stakeholders wallets by having chronically online people like myself post and post and comment and post, stepping over some invisible threshold into your domain where it seems sarcasm has never existed, and the most banal and disingenuous human interactions are encouraged.

TL;DR - I feel like I’m taking crazy pills on your website. Insane we (might) still view you as important.

To be perfectly direct in this article, this isn’t directed at any specific individuals, and most definitely at the way this website has developed over time (though a few people should chickity-check themselves at the importance they place on their personal brand-building on this abomination. Probably me haha)

So, as I launch into spotlighting some of the insane things that your product people have conceived LI (fUcKiNg PuZzLe GaMeS?!?!) I’ll check myself quickly and ask a balanced question: Is it me? Am I the Asshole?

*Thinks for 1 second*

A: “No”

tHe AlGoRiThM

Ah, the algorithm. Your mighty algorithm. I’d honestly be shocked if there is one, or if you even know what you’ve built. Weeks old posts in my feed? Sure!

Healthy debate posts throttled? Absolutely!!

Boosted engagement on the sloppiest SLOP, while some pretty important announcements (that realistically should be reaching me) go unseen? You betcha!!!

Smallest selection of contributions. Ask the internet and they shall deliver

Sooooo Mannnnyyyyyyy Ruuuuulllleeeesssss

For a website that you’ve scaled and reaped a mountain of valuation increases based on farming cheap opinions, happy to give you another one, for free. On the house. For the cost of nada. An opinion gift, from me to you:

We’ve grown tired of your milquetoast product, and we’re leaving soon.

An incumbent will head along soon and do it better, and the people will bounce out, because this ain’t no community.

It’s just the best place to do business stuff (or at least was) and now it’s just a distraction, and we’ve been officially dumbed down, thanks to your rules.

Only post once a day. Not twice a day, just once. But always leave more than 24 hours in between posts. Don’t repost then post, that’ll bomb. Use video. Actually don’t. Actually do again: the linkedin employees are now telling us to. Don’t post at 9am, post at 8am. Better yet, 7.30am, but not 7.35am, that’s dumb. Don’t post on Fridays, but post every third Thursday. Not Monday, but don’t count out Mondays, either. Do selfies. Post kids. Definitely post pets. Don’t not not post kids and pets together, but definitely don’t post kids and pets and selfies all in one post, but also try that. Show up as yourself. Use our AI to write your posts. But don’t post AI posts, that will be downgraded. Pay for Linkedin Premium to reach people. Be genuine in your comments; here’s some AI suggested responses. Always have an image, but text-only posts are trending too.

Taken verbatim from a recent speech by linkedin leadership. Probably.

Linkedin promoting their own people to promote video.

I could go on for an eternity here at the incredulous use of linkedin continuously boosting their employees and other linkedfluencers to shill the use of video as the way forward. Here’s a small image sample of a bunch of promoted posts that show up in my feed as the second post, every time I open it.

Have you seen the way your ads backend exists LinkedIn? It’s A) the worst UX and B) You’re sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo expensive. We’re in a cost-of-living crisis here, the $ aren’t there to be spent on this ‘experiment’ and the ROI barely stacks up for the majority.

cringe

👏 It’s 👏 Not 👏 Fun 👏 Opening 👏 Your 👏 Website 👏

Savagely throttling peoples’ important posts

If you follow Cindy Gallop, you’ll note that she bangs on continuously about her mass amount of followers not seeing her posts. Posts which usually focus specifically on championing women founders, highlighting ethical technology, spotlighting the role pornography plays in our society, and a number of other self-aware social issues that should definitely play a part in forming a healthy, balanced opinion about the society we exist in, no matter the industry.

Check out an example here of a bit of the tone, and then turn attention to other lesser known voices. How do they even stand a chance to promote something important and reach people?. And just remember why it is important to engage with posts that say something important, even if you’re one of the 98% *lurking* https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7356997824355397633/

If you view Linkedin as simply a whimsical corner of the internet where we shitpost and some people receive outsized vanity metrics for memes and mucking around in our own slightly embarrassing ways, remember this:

Some people have extremely important issues to share, to spark debate and ignite a conversation, and the ability to reach people who need to hear this shouldn’t also be reliant that the person posting it needs to have a fantastic cheap hook, or brilliantly designed graphics included, or any other cheap marketing tactic with buzzwords like AI, fundraising and more included in the opening statements to ensure people ‘read more.’

I used to just think it was a funny observation that a bunch of white dudes would usually get the majority of reach from posts, from what I was noticing. Then I realised it was a consistent trend, and it wasn’t funny anymore.

Linkedin, you might not believe that it’s your responsibility to ensure that important discussion points are amplified.

That’s ok. Another platform will come capitalise on this, soon, and the people will leave (if not already).

Fire your product team.

That’s right. Fire your product team.

Some unbelievably questionable tactics utilised by your company to amplify engagement at certain time-periods.

We grew tired of those past ones, and we’ll grow tired of the current ones. Couple of choice cuts past and present listed below:

‘Contribute your opinions to drive a conversation (for free)?’

Fuck off.

‘Play Puzzle Games and share with your audience?’

Fuck right off.

Oh, honestly, get fucked.

‘Rolling out Reels, just like IG has, so people can get more exposed to the realness of their connections?’

Last I checked, I needed to follow someone on IG so I can see that content. Not have it forced on me just because some random connected with me and I bit, and now they’re creating random reels about their excitement about openAI. Get absolutely fucked.

Do better.

This rant has an end point

I could go on forever and ever. As someone who gladly mucked around and experimented with the platform, enjoying using it in a bit of the same way as ‘old twitter’ it was enjoyable for a while there, but by god, it has waned, and to be perfectly candid, the fatigue from operating inside it has reached the point that it’s at an irrelevent point in my day-to-day as something important to keep going, and instead, just something I experiment with, without taking an interest in the vanity metrics that drive this addictive behaviour.

“Oh that’s cool - my off-hand comment on a friends post just got twice the impressions than a quite important campaign I was running that probably needed some eyeballs on it so I can achieve some goals.”

Just trying to run a business here, and support other people doing likewise.

Had my fun, reaped some benefits from it, have mentally moved on.

See you in the real world people, it’s garbage collection time, so I’m gathering up the scraps and putting it somewhere out-of-sight soon, bin juice and all.

Love to take a potshot at whoever’s in charge, but honestly, they never show their face. Who the hell is in charge here? Read Bec Shaw’s article on The Guardian by the way, it’s an oldie but a goodie: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/16/i-knew-one-day-id-have-to-watch-powerful-men-burn-the-world-down-i-just-didnt-expect-them-to-be-such-losers

SOCIALS:

GROUP GROUP LinkedIn (LOL): https://www.linkedin.com/company/grpgrp/

GROUP GROUP Instagram: @grpgrp_

A LIL CURATION FOR YA

Harrison Polites is SUCH a great writer about the video-games industry. Go have a read of his latest review and article on Team Cherry’s Hollow Knight: Silksong, one of Australia’s (Adelaide) greatest video game launch achievements ever.

There has been a big debate online ICYMI about the lack of spotlight on the Aus video game industry which punches well above its weight. There is a MASSIVE opportunity for tech funding companies (such as the one I used to be at, Tractor Ventures) to create funding vehicles for games. (Wrote about this in the past, will write about it again)

For now though, read the thing, and Harrison’s other articles (and tell a friend)

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