In some
ways, the point of Lincoln is obvious. It's not like Instagram
where you're supposed to look cool. It's not like Twitter
where you're supposed to be funny and it's not like Facebook,
where you're supposed to discover that Harry Styles is a government psyop
to turn our kids gay. LinkedIn, however, is
where you go to network. It should be pretty straightforward. So why the hell is it so weird? I'm outside the New York offices of LinkedIn,
the preeminent career platform where people go for job listings, resume
building and toxic thought leadership. How Microdosing helps
me relate to the women in our off what Andrew Tate can teach us about team. At what age did your child start?
Dropshipping. It's earlier than you think. Let me explain. LinkedIn is far and away
the most well-known site for hiring. Meanwhile, as a social network
gets most successful, users employ a very specific tone. LinkedIn is megatrend. Cringe. Cringe. Cringe. Cringe. I feel like there's like two sides
to LinkedIn. On one side,
there is the like digital resumé. It's a place
where you go to maybe find your next job. And then there's the other side of it,
which is more of a social network. Rachel Carden is a social media consultant
and author of the link in bio newsletter. And she had a pretty simple explanation as to why every viral LinkedIn post
sounds like Tony Robbins Notes app. The LinkedIn algorithm is a lot to blame
for that sort of personality. You know, celebrating the wins
or highlighting a really engaging, you know, post that you did
on social media and talking about it
and bragging about it. The algorithm likes that content,
and so it feeds more of it. Which is how you end up with posts like
this CEO crying after laying people off, or this guy asking for a special place
on the train for networking, or this guy talking about how he wants to work
even after he's won the lottery, or this guy
saying there's not a cost of living crisis but a
not knowing how to make money crisis. So why in the hell would anyone want to go
viral in this sea of cringe? You know, it's so important today for C-level executives
to have a presence on LinkedIn, right? It's the world's
biggest networking platform. Julie Livingston is a public relations strategist, host of the PR Patter podcast
and LinkedIn ghostwriter. I think LinkedIn is very different
than Facebook or Instagram or Twitter because somehow we take it more seriously. And again,
I think that's because it was initiated. It was started as a business
networking platform. Julia has built a career off of helping
people grow their LinkedIn profiles, and she described to us the most effective
way to communicate on the platform. It sounds like
the person is speaking to you. It sounds like their voice,
like they're just having a conversation like you and I are having right now. Sure. But some would disagree. LinkedIn is
where good content goes to die. It's the antisocial network
where everybody has to be there. Nobody wants to be there
and everybody has to post stuff that they don't really want to post there. And then a few people post stuff
that they know will get engagement there. Jack Raines is a writer, business
school student and author of numerous viral LinkedIn posts
that parody its cringe voice. I'm a curator of vibes. I live and die by my ability
to post on the Internet. And yeah, so I guess I'm a professional
and non influencer. And what kind of quality content
does a LinkedIn non influencer put out? It was like a personal finance hack on
how to save money living in New York City. So I said that every day
I go to a different hotel in Manhattan and I go eat their continental breakfast
and then I sign off on some random room number. I don't actually do this,
but I wrote on LinkedIn like, I post it. Go to sleep. Wake up the next day. Over a million views. It went viral. Jack's parody posts point out
an underlying truth about LinkedIn thought leadership. Authenticity matters
a lot less than being good at writing the specific type of posts
that the algorithm is horny for. I feel like it exists in such an odd place
because of the very obvious
acting that happens on their. LinkedIn is a platform
that's maybe even meant to be your most authentic self,
and it feels like people are putting on a performance
more than any other platform. So if this is the state of LinkedIn now,
where is it headed? I mean, I think it's going to continue to grow in importance
as we become a global economy, right? I mean,
so I think it's going to continue to grow. I don't think the algorithm
will ever favor just like normal sort of storytelling. So I think we'll see more people emulate the Adam Grant's of the world
and talk like they're experts. And that's usually how it all starts. It's like if you talk like you are a thought
leader, then you are a thought leader. I think LinkedIn has the like
it has the best longevity out of all of them
because it literally won't die. Everybody on Instagram
could eventually go to TikTok or to another like photo video
sharing app. Twitter could die because there could be
another better version of Twitter. But with LinkedIn, because it's so entrenched with like
the professional Job Network side of it, I do think that you're starting to see more and more people post
regular content on LinkedIn. So while LinkedIn is the worst
social media site now, it has the most potential
to be the biggest one for both the social platform
and professional. But it's not there yet. So get ready. Working world, much like GE
call it, and chlamydia. LinkedIn isn't going away any time soon. And if the future of social media
doesn't look like Tik Tok reels, tweets or YouTube shorts,
at least it's something I'm familiar with. Cringe from this conversation. Do you think I have what it takes
to be a thought leader? You know, Dan, I have to say,
I've been so incredibly impressed by by you and the way you address this, this
this whole topic. I think you do have what it takes. Julie,
thank you. Thank you for saying that. I'll pay you the $15.
I promise you for saying that later.