Is it me?

TBE partnership with Thrings

Over the years, John Davies’ Is it me? has become a favourite of TBE for its wit and camaraderie. This time, LinkedIn gets the hit…

LinkedIn… 

I’ve been blocking a fair bit of content from my LinkedIn feed recently. Over the last few years, I’ve largely ignored it but the LinkedIn ‘Big Dogs’ have finally got to me. 

I’m genuinely bored of seeing content which is really nothing other than an excuse to boast. It’s tedious. The hollow promises. The unevidenced claims. The shaming. The blaming. Please – give it a rest. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m genuinely interested in real success stories, real life experiences and, in fairness, some of the genius humour being used to make a point, or perhaps lighten a darker day. But some of the things which creep into my feed are utter dross and obvious fabrication. How have the people with such exciting lifestyles even got time to post?

I appreciate that not everyone can be put into this category but why isn’t the person who is promising to a) make you a billionaire, b) smash an eight-figure salary, or c) have all your toilets sculpted in gold, doing it for themselves? 

If you have the time or the inclination, a gentle peek behind the fabulous curtains often reveals a slightly less astonishing reality – who knew? I’ve discovered that there is actually something very satisfying in banishing these people from your feed. So that’s my first point. 

My second?

A lot of the comments on certain posts can be pretty sour and often for no apparent reason. We’ve all heard the phrase about having nothing nice to say, then not saying it at all. Well, that doesn’t seem to apply on LinkedIn. There are keyboard MMA fighters everywhere. It’s particularly bad when the attacks get personal – on looks, beliefs, ideas. Why the aggression? 

I actually like reading some of the ‘softer’ content. The ‘what makes me tick’ stuff. The crossover content linking life to business. You’ve got to be careful though because there are a lot of folks that don’t like it – ‘it’s not Facebook’, ‘what has this got to do with business’, ‘I don’t give a @#%t about Crocs!’. Calm down. If you don’t like something then don’t read it, scroll on my friend, scroll on. There really is no need to get stuck into someone is there?

Anyway, those are a couple of LinkedIn gripes from yours truly. 

If you read this on LinkedIn please feel free to post a photo of your yacht and some tips on how I can make my next million. Alternatively have a go at me. You could even block me from your feed! 

I won’t know you’ve done it, but I guarantee you’ll feel a whole lot better!

John Davies,

Senior Corporate Partner,
Thrings

e: jdavies@thrings.com
t: 01793 412634

Connect with me on LinkedIn.