Why I Barely Use LinkedIn

Photo by https://www.sourcingmonk.com/why-i-dont-like-linkedin/

After they deactivated my account without no logical explanation in 2018, I backed off.

I remember my mom saying that I should get one, because it’s a cool way to connect with people all around the world.

I still waited for a while, and finally got one summer 2014 (I gotta go back in and make sure what date, but I think it’s July 16th, 2014).

I love my connections. I love e-meeting people that I otherwise wouldn’t have met.

But one day I couldn’t log in.

Then I reached out to support because I couldn’t log in. They said they deactivated my account because I sent people too many links.

I NEVER SEND LINKS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA like that. I meet people in person or over the phone, and send them links over email.

At the time, I had two step verification with my profile. So no one could log in easily. I haven’t logged on in a month. I ran it past them that someone could have created another Alesha Peterson account and they thought it was me?

And they said “Yes, that’s a possibility.”

So why you deactivate me without doing a thorough investigation?

You can look at older messages on my profile and know that I don’t send spam link messages on there. Freaks of nature. Thank goodness I never paid for the “pro” account that they always push for.

After they reactivated my account, I spent the next 6 months or so gathering emails, profile info on as many of my LinkedIn connects as I could.

Realizing how many people I could have lost really pissed me off. I’m connected with billionaires, millionaires, heavy hitters in the entrepreneur and entertainment industry and more on there.

I emailed close to 700, 800 people on there in 2018. We exchanged phone and emails, because I told them I’m not sure how often I’ll be logging on in the future.

Some people didn’t have emails, so I took notes on the profiles and backed it up on word. I put all the emails on Microsoft excel sheet.

I looked at old emails from LinkedIn to see who added me (the emails that said connection request approved, or similar shit). This was a life saver.

Honestly I have 1,500 so I have a little bit more to go.

I logged on a few times in 2019, but I took a break from it. I have created more businesses, done more things and traveled more places but I haven’t updated yet. It might be 5 years until I update, I haven’t decided yet.

Here’s the 411 (Reading Discretion Advised)

1. LinkedIn is one of those places that whatever you put into it is what you get out of it. I did get a lot of dead ends, and I have learned that there’s people who are uber successful that never touched the site or have a profile on there.
2. There was a period of my life when I didn’t have LinkedIn and I was fine. I haven’t logged on for a bit and I’ve been stellar. I occasionally have my mom or my friend make sure my account is still up.
3. I DO feel that my college circles added me on there when they saw what I accomplished, yet hesitate to hang out with me in real life. LinkedIn brings out a lot of fakes, wannabes and coattail riders. It’s disheartening that so many people like you for what you got, not who you are. (If I didn’t have all those startups and businesses on there would you h****** and knuckleheads still be down? Sadly no.)

Melissa, I’m with you when you right.

Credit Goes To: https://recruitingtools.com/author/ryan-leary/

4. I like LinkedIn, but I don’t want to put too much time into it because I no longer trust it. Having an email list has worked out better.

5. All my articles are getting backed up on here and my blog.

6. I log on from time to time, but nothing like when I was first on it.

7. I backup everything.

Since it’s 2020, a new decade 🔥🙌 I’ve decided to slightly change how I sign off. (See a 2019 or older article for my old sign-off).

Interested in having my Medium stories sent to your inbox? Sign up here! (Since I’m currently editing this from my phone I’ll add the links in a bit).

If you like what you’ve read, please recommend it so others can read it as well. Please tell me what you want me to write about here!

Interested in what I done? Check out my LinkedIn profile I barely use lol.

Quora anyone?

For example, I’ve become a children’s book author, created a new brand, and started up more businesses. This hasn’t been announced anywhere and only people who reads my blog knows this “updated info”. It may be A WHILE before I update it on LinkedIn and elsewhere, but I reinvent myself all the time.