I have spent the last two days trying to find redeeming qualities about LinkedIn after being inspired by fellow photographer Ben Reed. I have approached my LinkedIn efforts with a very open mind, seeking networking opportunities and writing all kinds of recommendations for folks I know to help them out and network.
In fact, this here blog is included in my profile (though it doesn’t display by default, loads slowly, and doesn’t display photos). But with Ben’s help, I figured out how to use an app to add some photos of my own work (in pdf format– not jpegs like most other site use).
So my conclusion? LinkedIn is clumsy, poorly designed, and incredibly un-user friendly. It contains far too much text and simple items like requesting a recommendation are hidden under layers of menus (and when you finally find it, turns out you’re requesting an endorsement, not a recommendation!) And worst of all, Ad Block Plus doesn’t block the text ads on top of your profile!
The main advantage I found with LinkedIn, though, is it’s useful for SEO listings.
Beyond that, I can pretty much guarantee LinkedIn is not the next facebook. LinkedIn is fun for about, oh, ten seconds but you’ll probably be left feeling that if you only check it once a month, you won’t be missing out on anything. Try that with facebook!
Anyway, if that doesn’t discourage you, feel free to look up my profile on LinkedIn. But you’ve been warned– it’s as text heavy as this blog post!
