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It started with a simple request from someone I knew: Would
I like to connect on LinkedIn?
Yes, I would. This person works in an industry (Sports
Marketing/Education) that merges well with my own (Writing/Editing for a
national sports organization). By all means, let’s use this online tool to
connect and possibly work together.
Accept? Click!
I’m taken to a page that has a long list of people, some of
whom I know. These would be the contacts
of my newest LinkedIn contact (the Sports Marketing/Education contact). But
there are also many people I don’t know, probably because they’re contacts of
contacts. In other words, they are strangers to me. Without doing research on
each one, I’m quite sure I don’t want to connect with them professionally at
this time.
I click “Skip” and move on to another screen – of more
people I might want to connect with. “Skip” again…
But something happened along the way. Perhaps it was the
fact that I was using my mobile phone with its small screen and risk of
mis-clicking. Perhaps I misread something. Undoubtedly the problem was between
the keyboard and the chair, because whatever I clicked has produced a
maelstrom, an avalanche, a deluge of emails from LinkedIn saying:
“[Person’s name] has accepted your invitation. See
[Person’s] connections, experience and more…”
LinkedIn is a useful tool. It’s not simply a Facebook
wannabe for business or professional purposes, because it’s not about being a
social connector. Used strategically, LinkedIn helps people find jobs, share
important professional information and join forums for discussion and
education.
I thought that was exactly how I was using it, too.
Apparently not.
Because while trying to navigate a path through LinkedIn – I
thought, carefully and strategically – I got caught. (I would say “tricked” or
“duped”, but that sounds a bit too nefarious).
No, you know what? It was somewhat nefarious. This is the
dark side of online platforms, social or otherwise. Somewhere in their clever
design, they have a way of sucking you in and making you agree to things you
really didn’t intend to agree to – Facebook privacy settings being an excellent
example. Be very careful what you click – or don’t click. (That drunken photo
from Sara’s bachelorette party just went viral, sorry!)
I thought LinkedIn was safer. I was wrong, and the bottom
line is I goofed and I now have an unending list of new and not professionally helpful connections – invited by
me – piling up in my Inbox.
But LinkedIn made it very easy for me to fail. Consider
yourself warned.
