LinkedIn Cringe, Capitalism Cringe: Centering Humanity on Our Imperfect Platforms

It’s something I hear often from reluctant marketers – “LinkedIn makes me cringe.” This is a valid feeling, and one I’ve certainly felt before too. There’s something patently icky about the platform’s rampant self-promotion, paid-for-play access to audience engagement, and algorithmic preference for performative #GirlBoss posts that shamelessly, force connections between one’s kid and the B2B sales funnel.

For years, I felt what might be most accurately described as righteous disgust at LinkedIn influencers. I remember referring to the platform as a “capitalist hellscape.” Indeed, compared to other social and digital community platforms, LinkedIn feels like the most clear manifestation of late-stage capitalism. A place to post content about work (not politics!), a place to promote oneself without shame, a place to transform from a person to a “personal brand” and compete with millions of other wanna-be influencers for scraps of barely meaningful organic engagement.

As time has gone on, I’ve come to understand that much of our collective discomfort with LinkedIn represents a growing collective disillusionment with the system in which it both operates and upholds: capitalism. A system which, in its very name, asserts its preference for profit over people.

I think acknowledging the real source of our discomfort here is important for moving forward as people and particularly as marketers. Because when we acknowledge that our LinkedIn ick is actually capitalism ick, we can focus our collective energies where it truly matters.

Many of us live our day to day lives amid system we disagree with; some of us might have even adopted different lifestyles or ways of engaging with our community and local economies to align with our beliefs.

Just as in our everyday lives, I believe we can be intentional contributors to a platform that we aren’t fully aligned with. That we can hold two opposite ideas at once: there is meaningful connection to be found on LinkedIn (or any of our imperfect platforms for that matter) and that the platform itself is flawed. PS: LinkedIn is not the only platform acting as capitalism (and facism’s) right hand man these days. It is just the most visible due to its focus on the workplace.

I post on LinkedIn without moral quandary now. My intention with every one of my posts is to disrupt in some small way the LinkedIn status quo – whether by dropping a poem into the feed, reminding people to touch grass, or by asking a question designed to break people out of their hyper-fixation on ‘best practices’ to actually get in touch with what might be best for them, as humans. Because here’s the thing: LinkedIn sucks, but the humans behind the screen are wonderful. And in many cases, they are waiting to be seen, waiting to hear exactly the ideas you’ve been holding back because of the cringe factor.

So here’s how we move through our cringe: we acknowledge that it’s not about the platform and it never was. It’s about the people. My LinkedIn is full of wonderful, smart, and kind people I’ve had the privilege of working with for years. The more we can all use our imperfect platforms to maintain the meaningful relationships we’ve built, to expand our circles of community, to share ideas and ask questions that ripple beyond the blue-light of the screen, the better.

Humanity and community are the solution to LinkedIn ick just as they are the solution to capitalism ick.