I have been a member of LinkedIn for over a decade. I remember when I first joined, and how excited I was early in my career to have a place dedicated to connecting with other professionals for our mutual benefit. It demystified some of what it meant to start a career and provided insight you could not access as easily before LinkedIn existed.

There was a time where LinkedIn had a very specific role in my life. One that connected me to other creatives, kept me in contact with clients, and provided a curated place to learn more about my industry. It was a different type of social network that had a clear separation from other platforms. That is until time slowly changed it into something new.

Gone are the days where LinkedIn felt different from Facebook and Twitter. The unspoken rule of not bothering business prospects with your memes and unsolicited business advice is gone. Now replaced with constantly whipping out your credentials and seeing who has the largest…network*. It is no longer about business, it is about celebrity, and many users will do anything they can to achieve the notoriety they seek.

“So Preston, you like things how they used to be eh? Gonna tell me next how you walked to school uphill both ways in the snow when you were young?”

My grievance isn’t a call for stagnancy, but rather a wish that the intention of the platform did not lose its effectiveness in the face of its growth. I am also not the only one to notice this shift, INC wrote an article on exactly this topic, calling LinkedIn the new Facebook;

“LinkedIn is the new Facebook. Deal with it.”

While that poetic stance on the topic inspires you to read the article…it basically states that LinkedIn users are just transferring their normal social media behaviors onto the business site. It indicates that we need to get with the times and step away from the dry content of the past and into the new or get left behind.

I choose to get left behind.

The idea that my personal interactions and my business interactions should mirror each other is a great way for me to never work again. Professionalism exists for a reason. The lack of restraint on today’s LinkedIn is nothing but flashing what you think is impressive in-front of your peers. You may as well be biting your lower lip to look extra thirsty (and hungry I guess) for your corporate headshot.

Is my explicit content comparison for this article a fair comparison to the spam and preening all over LinkedIn? Absolutely not. Explicit content and sex work has an actual purpose that people use, while your meme about being a good boss is just a desperate attempt at self-exposure. It’s intellectual masturbation that I prefer to avoid in my day-to-day as it does nothing to enrich my professional development.

“You are talking a big game, but then why do you still have a LinkedIn profile you hypocrite?”

Despite everything, I still have a LinkedIn profile. Why? Simply put, you must have one these days for any sort of legitimacy in business exchanges. Cyberstalking is not just relegated to your ex; hiring managers, clients, and co-workers will all look you up on the web. Maintaining a semblance of an online persona related to your career is a must, and LinkedIn is still the standard.

While you cannot completely remove yourself from the platform, I recommend (and do) the following to help disengage from the sea of writhing bodies trying to climb to the top of the pile of who is “most successful”.

Make your profile private.
This simply allows you to show up but hides your personal details from anyone who isn’t interested enough to actually interact with you to get more access. Most clients just like to see you exist, so this tends to not be a barrier to entry for most. LinkedIn even allows you to curate what you do and do not show, so you can be selective on what you put out there.

Turn off notifications.
This allows you to exist as a professional entity while not worrying about being pinged for every interaction on the platform. When I log on, it’s mostly spam; the never-ending stream of self-entitled MBAs telling me how I can be like them in 12 easy payments, and salespeople clamoring to sell me things. This allows them all to do their thing without affecting my email inbox.

Show some restraint.
Would you post this on your personal Facebook, Twitter, or some other social media platform? Nine times out of ten keep it off LinkedIn. For instance, the metaphor in this article is provocative. If I wanted attention, I could post this all over LinkedIn with sexy imagery. Talking about how avant-garde I am and going for the “any attention is good attention” approach that is so popular on the platform. But this article does not actually help anyone professionally grow, it just tells you what to do if you are a grumpy bastard (i.e., me) who doesn’t like spammy content mixed with business.

Curate Content.
For those who want to keep interacting on top of creating more privacy. Remember that LinkedIn does allow you to curate content you want to see by hiding posts, reporting content, or unfollowing someone who you don’t want to unfriend.

Check out but Check In.
Like anything, having an account does not mean it needs to be actively managed each day. I bi-annually check my LinkedIn for posterity. Using the other tools mentioned above I continually whittle down what I see on the platform, but do not engage with others like I used to. This allows me to still see if any resources are available that can provide value, but only as one of many potential avenues to do so rather than the main or single source.

“Wow a top 5 list. Great job Buzzfeed. Where are the rest of the top ten, you lazy son of a bitc…”

What to do instead?

• Actively take part in my workplace to learn from my co-workers and clients.
• Take the extra time to impress my clients now so I can keep working with them rather than have to remind them I exist later.
• Build and maintain this web presence that keeps me considering my stance on professional and creative matters outside of the confines of my 9-5.
• Learn, through hobbies and tutorials, skills that expand my capabilities and worldview or just keep me happy so I can be my best come time to start my workday.
• Enjoy myself in my free time so I can be a competent professional when I have to put in extra hours, deal with frustrating projects, or work with people I may not have chosen myself to have to interact with.

If there comes a time where I decide being a well-known creative is most important to me, or if I just want my massive ego massaged, maybe I too will take part in the digital key party that is LinkedIn. Until then, I am fine for best being known as a guy who gets shit done by my co-workers and being a dependable resource for my clients…without any of the spectacle.